The Election Commission of Pakistan stopped hearing of a disqualification reference against the prime minister since the case is already being heard in the Supreme Court.
A debate broke out at the ECP on Wednesday, while the Chief Election Commissioner who was presiding a five-member commission for hearing disqualification references against the Prime Minister, Imran Khan, Jehangir Tareen and Capt Safdar Mehmood, asked all parties their views over the issue.
The prime minister’s lawyer Salman Butt advised that the ECP should wait for the Supreme Court’s decision. He said that in the past the Supreme Court had also heard cases against Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. He added that High Court had stopped the hearing till a decision by the apex court.
Meanwhile Latif Khosa maintained that his client were not party in the Supreme Court case. He added that the Panama Leaks was a national issue and ECP is the constitutional forum to hear this case.
He added that the case in the ECP should not be affected by the SC hearing. “The ECP is only accountable to Allah and the public.”
To this Chief Election Commissioner responded that the ECP verdict is challenged in the Supreme Court.
PTI lawyer Hamid Khan agreed to Latif Khosa. He said that ECP is allowed to hold a hearing which is underway at the SC.
The ECP also heard a disqualification reference against Capt. Safdar Mehmood.
The Chief Election Commissioner said that this case was currently being heard in the Supreme Court and the ECP should wait for a decision by the apex court before proceeding with it.