Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman and Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday approached the Supreme Court, seeking an early hearing of his appeal in the foreign funding case.
The PTI chairman through his lawyer Anwar Mansoor Khan moved the application, stating that his appeal against the Election Commission of Pakistan and Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) verdict declaring Akbar S Babar a part of the ruling party is pending disposal before the top court.
Babar has taken the party to the commission, accusing it of receiving funds from foreign sources.
The matter pertains to the PTI’s membership and its pendency is damaging for the party, the PTI chairman said, pleading the apex court to fix his appeal on March 18.
The ECP had constituted a scrutiny committee to look into the foreign funding accusations and had declared Akbar S Babar a part of the PTI. The party subsequently went to the IHC against the ECP decision but its petition was dismissed. Later, it filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, challenging the ECP and IHC decisions.
The trial gained fame and momentum earlier this week following a protest by opposition parties outside the offices of the ECP in Islamabad to question alleged delay in the probe which has dragged on throughout the tenure of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the two-and-a-half years of the incumbent setup without a verdict.
The PTI has sought to distance itself from the case, saying its funds were gathered by ‘agents’ who were working at odds with the instructions of then chairman Imran Khan, and as such, the party was not liable for their sources.
The ECP is likely to announce the final verdict in the foreign funding case against the ruling party right after the upcoming Senate elections as the scrutiny committee in the case has almost collected all relevant data.
