ISLAMABAD: The Election Com­mission of Pakistan (ECP) has ordered the formation of a new committee to scrutinise the accounts of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the foreign funding case.

The decision was taken by a five-member bench of the ECP headed by Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza.

The order was issued after two members of the original scrutiny committee — which was formed on March 12 — refused to participate in its first meeting scheduled for March 19.

The committee, which will be headed by the director general law, is expected to take one month from its formation to complete the inspection and submit its findings to the ECP.

During the hearing of the case on Tuesday, the CEC announced that two new members of the committee would be notified in a few days and that the body would commence its work from April 3.

He acceded to the request of the petitioner’s counsel Badar Iqbal Chaudhry for providing access to all documents as the ECP’s restraining order had become infructuous after the Islamabad High Court rejected the writ petition of the PTI seeking suspension of the probe.

The decision was taken three years after the foreign funding case was first filed, in November 2014, by a founding member of the PTI, Akbar S. Babar.

Talking to reporters after the hearing, Mr Babar said that for more than three years a party that claimed to bring justice to society had evaded justice and accountability under one pretext or another.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2018