ECP dismisses references against 20 dissident PTI MNAs

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday decided against de-seating 20 dissident Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Members of National Assembly (MNAs), dismissing references against them sent by the party.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja presided over a threemember ECP bench that issued the verdict, which it had reserved earlier in the day.

Reading out the judgment, the ECP said that it was a unanimous decision and would be later released on the ECP website. The ECP observed that the references against the dissidents was not in line with Article 63-A of the Constitution.

Reacting to the ruling, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, in a statement, termed the ECP's decision "foolish" but "expected" as it was already apparent what conclusion the electoral body would reach.

He said the party would fight such "lawlessness" and prevail with the people's support. "This decision of the election commission will be challenged in the Supreme Court," he said, adding that a reference would be filed against Raja in the Supreme Judicial Council.

The former information minister had announced plans for reference earlier in the day.

"The Election Commission has become the PML-N's B-team," Chaudhry alleged. "The ECP says that those who abandoned the party are still a part of it. All these lotay (turncoats) have been posting pictures of Nawaz Sharif in their constituencies," he added.

Later, he took to Twitter to deride the decision taken by the ECP as the sort of ruling that "destroys institutions".

The case

The matter first came to light in March after several PTI lawmakers were found staying at the Sindh House in Islamabad ahead of the notrust vote against then-prime minister Imran Khan, some of whom spoke to the media about their grievances with the party.

They had refuted allegations that they had been offered money to make the opposition's no-trust move a success but said they would vote in accordance with their "conscience".

Subsequently, the PTI had filed declarations and references against 20 members of the

National Assembly, seeking their disqualification under Article 63-A of the Constitution.

The PTI had filed references against MNAs Noor Alam Khan, Dr Mohammad Afzal Khan Dhandla, Nawab Sher Waseer, Raja Riaz Ahmad, Ahmed Hussain Deharr, Rana Mohammad Qasim Noon, Asim Nazeer, Amjad Farooq Khosa, Aamir Liaquat Hussain, Chaudhry Farrukh Altaf, Syed Mobeen Ahmed, Sayed Sami-ul-Hassan Gillani, Mohammad Abdul Ghaffar Wattoo, Sayed Basit Ahmad Sultan, Aamir Talal Gopang, Sardar Riaz Mehmood Khan Mazari, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Wajiha Qamar, Nuzhat Pathan and Javeria Zafar.