ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Saturday accepted for hearing Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) petitions seeking action against PPP and the PML-N for allegedly receiving party funding from ‘illegal’ foreign sources.
The petitions, submitted by PTI MNAs Asad Umar and Shireen Mazari, pleaded the apex court to order the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to investigate the sources of funding of both the parties. They requested the court to form a judicial commission to investigate the parties’ funds and to withdraw their election symbols. They requested the court to impose a ban on the PML-N for acting against the ‘integrity and sovereignty’ of Pakistan. They also sought disqualification of PPP and PML-N chiefs who, they alleged, had submitted false certificates regarding their parties’ funds.
The SC registrar office had previously returned both the constitutional petitions after raising the objection that the petitioners had not approached any other appropriate forum available to them under the law. Likewise, it said, they did not provide any justification for not doing so.
The petitioners had then appealed the decision, and Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar will now hear the petitions on Nov 15.
The PTI itself is currently facing two separates cases relating to receiving foreign funding: one before the SC and the other before the ECP.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court also accepted an appeal filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif requesting the court to order the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) file a consolidated reference instead of pursuing three separate corruption references.
The appeal by former premier maintained that filing three separate references was ‘illegal, and violative of law and the constitution, besides being violative of his [Sharif’s] fundamental rights’.
Published in Daily Times, November 12th 2017.
