ISLAMABAD , July 25, 2023: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday put off indictment of the PTI Chairman till August 2 in contempt of the electoral watchdog and the chief election commissioner (CEC).
A four-member bench headed by member Nisar Durrani conducted hearing of the case.The PTI chief appeared before the electoral watchdog for the first time since case was taken up in October last year.
The ECP had asked Islamabad police to arrest the former prime minister and present him before the election body.
Last year, the ECP had initiated contempt proceedings against the PTI chief, party leader Asad Umar and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry for allegedly using ‘intemperate’ language against the CEC and the electoral watchdog.
The three had challenged the ECP notices and contempt proceedings in various high courts. In January, the Supreme Court allowed the ECP to continue proceedings against PTI chief, Chaudhry and Umar.
In the July 11 hearing, they did not appear before the commission despite being summoned, following which the ECP issued arrest warrants for Chaudhry and PTI chief.
As the PTI chief appeared before the commission, a member of the ECP bench stated that they had intended to indict the former prime minister in the case today.
However, the PTI chief’s counsel requested the electoral watchdog to defer the hearing as he needed more time to gather the case record.
In response, the watchdog accepted the counsel’s plea and postponed the indictment until August 2. It also directed PTI chairman to ensure his presence during the next hearing.