Pakistan Election Commission defers Imran Khan’s indictment in contempt case till Aug 2

The decision comes after the ECP on Monday ordered Islamabad police to arrest Imran Khan and pre­sent him before the election watchdog

Islamabad: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday deferred the indictment of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, till August 2 in a case related to contempt of the electoral body and the chief election commissioner (CEC), Pakistan-based Dawn reported.

The ECP issued the directions as a four-member bench headed by member Nisar Durrani heard the case on Tuesday, according to Dawn reported. During the hearing on Tuesday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan appeared before ECP since the matter was taken up in October 2022.

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The decision comes after the ECP on Monday ordered Islamabad police to arrest Imran Khan and pre­sent him before the election watchdog.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Imran appeared before the ECP bench alongside his counsel, Shoaib Shaheen.

A member of the ECP bench said that they had intended to indict PTI chairman in the case today. However, Imran Khan’s lawyer requested ECP to defer the hearing as he required more time to gather the case record, according to the report.

Responding to the statement, the ECP said, “It is your responsibility to manage the file and case record,” Dawn reported. Subsequently, the ECP accepted Imran Khan’s counsel plea and postponed the indictment until August 2. The electoral watchdog directed him to ensure Imran Khan’s presence during the next hearing.”

After the hearing, Imran Khan was asked by reporters whether he would apologise to the commission, he responded, “Do you think I should apologise? Why should I tender an apology when I did not make any mistake?” Asked by a reporter whether he would “take more U-turns”, Imran Khan responded, “he would keep taking U-turns,” according to a Dawn report.

The ECP began contempt proceedings against PTI chairman Imran Khan, party leader Asad Umar and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry last year for allegedly using intemperate language against the chief election commissioner and the electoral watchdog.

However, instead of appearing before the ECP, the three leaders challenged the electoral watchdog’s notices and contempt proceedings in various high courts.

They challenged the notices of ECP on the grounds that Section 10 of the Elections Act 2017, the statutory provision regarding the commission’s power to punish for contempt, was against the Constitution. The PTI leaders had also requested the courts to grant them a declaratory relief from the charges.

In January, the Pakistan Supreme Court had permitted the ECP to continue proceedings against Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar. On June 21, the ECP had decided to frame charges against the three leaders, Dawn reported.

In the hearing on July 11, the three leaders did not appear before the ECP despite being summoned. After their non-appearance, the ECP issued arrest warrants for Fawad Chaudhry and Imran Khan. However, the electoral watchdog had accepted a plea by Umar’s lawyer to permit him an exemption from the hearing.