Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and former federal information minister Fawad Chaudhry challenged on Monday the jurisdiction of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to send the contempt of commission notice. The former minister submitted his response to the commission saying that the notice under the provisions of the Contempt of Court Act cannot be issued or that such powers cannot be exercised by the ECP unless the commission were to be a court. The allegations of using intemperate, unparliamentary and contemptuous language have been categorically denied for being untrue and factually incorrect, Chaudhry maintained. He stated that under Article 19 of the constitution every citizen has a right to freedom of speech, therefore the notice should be withdrawn. Earlier this month, the ECP had issued contempt notices to PTI leaders Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar for levelling allegations at the electoral body and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja. However, Fawad Chaudhry had approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench against the electoral watchdog’s contempt of commission notice.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP