Imran Khan’s dismissal plea hearing to start today
islamabad — The Supreme Court will restart hearing a petition seeking the dismissal of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and PTI secretary-general Jahangir Khan Tareen, reports Dawn online.
The petition, filed by the PMLN’s Hanif Abassi, accuses the two PTI leaders for not declaring their assets to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and seeks to unseat them based on alleged violations of the lncome Tax Ordinance 1979 and Peoples Act 1974.
Amidst a heightened political backdrop, a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Saqib Nasir, Justice Umar Ata Bindial and Justice Faisal Arab will begin hearing the petition tomorrow.
Abbasi’s petition was accepted by the apex court in November last year by former chief justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali.
Abbasi, through his counsel Muhammad Akram Sheikh, seeks the PTI leaders’ disqualification under charges of false declaration before the ECP, nondisclosure of assets in offshore companies, and for being a foreign-funded party.
Abbasi’s petition argues that by failing to disclose the existence of “Niazi Services Limited” — an off-shore company allegedly owned by the PTI chairman — to the ECP, Khan stands in violation of the Income Tax Ordinance of 1979.
Additionally, Abbasi claims that the ‘off-shore company’ has consistently been submitting its financial documents to the relevant authorities in the Channel Islands, where the company is said to be based.