ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday initiated proceedings to remove Imran Khan from the post of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman following his disqualification in the Tosha Khana reference, report published in JEE News.
According to ECP sources, a notice has been issued to the PTI chief and the hearing of the case has been fixed on December 13.
According to the publication, the Election Commission will also resume the hearing of the show-cause notice to PTI on the same day based on the verdict in the foreign funding case.
However, a senior PTI leader has questioned the legality of the notice issued to the party chairman and said that it has already been decided to write a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja for an explanation.
He insisted that there is no legal basis to remove a party leader and there is no ban on any convicted person from leading or becoming an office bearer of a political party.
The Elections Act 2017 did not retain this provision, which was part of Section 5(1) of the erstwhile Political Parties Order 2002, which read, “Every citizen, who is not in the service of Pakistan, shall form or shall have the right to be a member of a political party or to be associated with a political party or to participate in political activities or to be elected as an office-bearer of a political party: Provided that any person appointed as an office-bearer or shall not serve in a political party if he is ineligible or declared ineligible to be a member of the Majlis Shura under Article 63 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan or under any other law. In power…”
It should be noted that in 2018, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by the then Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, Justice Umar Atta Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan heard the petitions challenging the Election Act 2017.
In its verdict, the bench said that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is not fit to act as president of PML-N.
Last October, the commission had disqualified Imran Khan under Article 63 (1) (p) for making ‘false statements and misrepresentations’ in the Tosha Khana reference and the written order said the defendant had ‘willfully Willfully and willfully violated the provisions. Sections 137, 167 and 173 of the Elections Act, 2017 include [me], because he has ‘made false statements and misrepresentations before the Commission in the statement of assets and liabilities filed by him for the year 2020-21.
The ECP in its order also said that ‘Accordingly, he (Imran Khan) is terminated as a member of the National Assembly and legal action will be initiated against him under Section 190 (2) of the Election Act, 2017. ‘.
