The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to hear the case filed on November 14, 2014 by PTI founding member and former central information secretary Akbar S. Babar against financial improprieties in PTI. The case will be presided over by the chief election commissioner.
After a preliminary hearing devoted to legal arguments regarding the admissibility and jurisdiction of the ECP yesterday, the ECP ordered PTI to appear before it on February 23, 2015, to plead its case.
Talking to media, the petitioner said that the case may have far-reaching consequences, and it could bring transparency and accountability to political parties. He said the full hearing of the case would bring to the fore irrefutable evidence of financial mismanagement and gross violations of relevant laws by PTI.
Babar said that political parties are public entities and must be regulated under relevant laws. He said PTI could not be allowed to be run on the whims of a few individuals as if it is their personal fiefdom. He said as long as political parties are not institutionalized, democracy would remain a tool through which the power hungry look to serve their own interests. PTI must change from within if it is serious about changing society, he added.
