The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday strictly cautioned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leaders of ex parte proceedings if they didn’t appear in another contempt case hearing.
The case against PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Secretary General Asad Umar, and Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry is currently being heard by the ECP.
The Lahore High Court suspended the three leaders’ bailable arrest warrants, which were also issued by the electoral commission, on Monday.
The Balochistan member of the ECP inquired at the start of the session on Tuesday, “where are Imran Khan, Asad Umar, and Fawad Chaudhary.”
The ECP panel was then informed by Advocate Faisal Chaudhry’s assistant that the PTI leaders and their legal representatives were unable to attend the hearing because they had to travel to Peshawar to attend the funeral of former SCBA president Latif Afridi.
Despite the high court suspending their arrest warrants, member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa claimed they were still required to attend the sessions and had not requested an exemption.
If the PTI leaders skip the subsequent hearing, according to member Sindh Nisar Durrani, the ECP will conduct ex parte proceedings and render a decision.
The hearing was postponed until January 24 by the ECP panel.
