ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a notice to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on PTI’s petition against the show-cause notice issued to the party in the prohibited funding case.

On Tuesday, Justice Babar Sattar directed the ECP to submit a reply by March 31.

PTI’s lawyer Anwar Mansoor Khan argued that the ECP issued the show-cause notice against relevant provisions of law and the dictum of the IHC.

After the ECP decided in August last year that the PTI secured over $7 million in illegal funding, it issued a show-cause notice, asking the party to justify why further legal action should not be taken against it for financial irregularities.

Instead of replying, the PTI filed a request to set the notice aside and sought cross-examination of key witnesses including the ECP committee that had scrutinised the party accounts and bank officers. The application was rejected by the ECP on March 22.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2023