Pak EC issues contempt notice to Imran Khan

Islamabad, January 24  

Election Commission of Pakistan has issued a contempt notice to cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan after he allegedly accused the top election body of bias in a case of foreign funding.

The notice was issued to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief yesterday. He was asked him to file a reply by February 21.

Dawn reported that the contempt application was filed by an estranged member of PTI Akbar Babar. Khan had allegedly accused the Election Commission of being biased against his party.

Talking to reporters, Babar regretted that the leader who gave lectures on morality was continuously trying to evade the process of law.

He said if he had not done anything wrong, why he was reluctant to produce the required documents.

A full Bench of the ECP headed by Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza is hearing the case.

The ECP had asked the PTI to submit all documents, including bank statements of PTI employees in whose accounts money was received allegedly from illegal sources.

The documents include registration of two offshore companies in the US which were used to collect and transmit over USD 3 million to Pakistan in the PTI accounts.

In April 2015, the ECP after scrutiny had found no traces of these funds in the PTI audit reports submitted before it. — PTI