The Islamabad High Court on Saturday allowed Akbar S. Babar’s plea to become a party in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) appeal against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision in the prohibited funding case.
Earlier in August, a three-judge bench of the ECP held that the PTI ‘knowingly and willfully’ received funding from prohibited sources, including foreign nationals.
The ECP bench, in its verdict, said the funding of Woton Cricket, owned by Abraaj Group founder Arif Naqvi, was from a prohibited source.
It announced that the funding received from more than 350 foreign companies and 34 foreign nationals – many of whom are of Indian origin – were also from prohibited sources. These funds were collected in USA, UK and Canada.
The commission declared that the funding received by Romita Shetty from Singapore also falls under funding from prohibited sources.
A week later, PTI challenged the verdict in the IHC. The party requested the court to “suspend the operation of the impugned fact-finding report of the ECP dated 02.08.2022” as they alleged that the report was “perverse, incorrect and in excess of powers and jurisdiction.”
The party also asked the court to suspend the show cause notice issued by the commission.
In its petition, the PTI also pleaded with the court that any action recommended by the ECP was beyond jurisdiction. It also wants the court to declare that no action can be taken on the basis of the fact-finding report of the ECP.
When PTI founder Babar, who was the original petitioner in the ECP against PTI’s foreign funding case, PTI opposed it.
Babar, in his application filed at the IHC on August 17, had said that he is a PTI member and the original complainant.
Babar said that there is no mention of me in PTI’s application and neither has he been named as a defendant in the case.
On Saturday, the IHC added Babar as a defendant in the case.
The court noted that it would be unfair to exclude Babar from the proceedings at this stage.
“He has participated in all the proceedings and has been involved in various rounds of litigation, there is no justification or basis to exclude him at this stage,” the order said.
