The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and former PTI leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain over their repeated failure to appear before it in a case pertaining to the contempt of the electoral body and the chief election commissioner (CEC).
During the proceedings, neither Khan nor Fawad appeared before the commission despite being directed to personally appear. Former PTI leader Asad Umar, also accused of contempt, similarly failed to appear but was able to secure an exemption because his counsel submitted that he was attending another case’s proceedings and also had a medical appointment.
Khan did not attempt to secure any exemption, while Fawad’s plea for exemption—on the grounds that he was in Lahore—was rejected. As a consequence, non-bailable warrants were issued for both men by a four-member ECP bench led by Nisar Durrani. The hearing was then adjourned until July 25.
The contempt proceedings against Khan, Umar and Fawad were initiated by the ECP last year over their alleged use of “intemperate” language against the CEC and the electoral watchdog in various public speeches. It directed them to appear in person or through their counsels before the commission to explain their position, which all three had resisted by challenging the ECP notices and contempt proceedings in various high courts, arguing that the commission’s power to punish for contempt was against the Constitution.
The ECP had then approached the Supreme Court for a consolidation of all challenges pending before the high courts. The apex court subsequently allowed proceedings to continue against the PTI leaders. In its order, the apex court ruled that the ECP would need to decide on the objections raised to its authority by Umar, Khan and Fawad before passing any final order on the matter. On June 21, the ECP announced it would frame charges against the three in July.