The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday said that it will have no other choice but to indict PTI Chairman Imran Khan, leaders Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry if they fail to appear in the contempt case. A four-member bench headed by ECP member Nisar Durrani conducted a hearing on the contempt case filed against Imran Khan and other PTI leaders, while Advocate Anwar Mansoor appeared on the party s behalf. During the hearing, PTI’s counsel contended that the notices were issued by the ECP s secretary and not by the electoral watchdog itself. The show-cause notice is illegal until this issue is solved. The show-cause notice has the signature of the director general of law, he said. At this, an ECP member of the bench denied the claim and said that it was the Commission that issued the notices and instead of the secretary, who has just informed about the notices. However, the PTI s lawyer urged the ECP to issue its charge sheet after October 31 as the Lahore High Court (LHC) was hearing a similar case on the said date. He said that Umar has received threats last night and there is no security for him. At this, the ECP s member said that they would have no other choice but to issue the charge sheet after November 10.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP