Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The election commission on Tuesday rejected a plea of the PTI seeking adjournment of the foreign funding case hearing.
Earlier, PTI’s lawyers Anwar Mansoor and Shah Khawar could not appear in the case hearing.
The party sought adjournment of the case hearing as a junior lawyer appeared in the election commissioner. “Anwar Mansoor has arrived in Islamabad from Karachi but he is suffering from fever,” the counsel said.
“Anwar Mansoor had told the ECP in the previous hearing that he was going abroad,” the chief election commissioner asked. “You repeatedly seek adjournment of the case, which is in pending since last seven years,” the CEC further said.
“We have submitted our reply over the scrutiny committee’s report,” PTi’s junior counsel said.
The ECP panel rejected the plea for adjournment of the foreign funding case hearing.
Akbar S. Babar’s counsel in his arguments said that the scrutiny committee confirmed the claim that the accounts were kept secret. “The committee also confirmed about 10 million dollars,” counsel said. “They didn’t provide the details of the party’s foreign accounts,” the counsel further said.
“The scrutiny committee has confirmed the contentions of the petitioner. The PTI wants to keep Akbar S. Babar away from the case,” counsel said. He pleaded for rejecting the petition of the PTI.
“The committee has confirmed about prohibited funding to the party,” the counsel argued.
The election commission reserved its decision over the PTI’s plea. It adjourned further hearing of the case until March 17.
