PTI pulls back reference against election commissioner soon after filing it

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday withdrew the reference against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, soon after filing it with the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to add “more evidence”.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry told journalists here the party had decided to add more evidence to the reference to make it more concrete. Points related to the alleged change in the ECP’s verdict on prohibited funding against the PTI would be included in the reference, he added, Geo News reported.

Fawad said the party would file the reference against the head of the election body after adding more legal points to the petition.

The PTI filed the reference with the JCP seeking the removal of CEC citing his “continuous deliberate misconduct”, a day after the election commission’s verdict on the foreign funding case, stating the party had received prohibited funding. The reference was filed by PTI’s counsel Babar Awan on behalf of the party.

Meanwhile, the PTI leader hinted at approaching the Supreme Court of Pakistan for PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan. Speaking during an interview with Urdu News, Fawad said the PTI would approach the Supreme Court and might ask the court to take an action against the “fake affidavit” submitted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the return of his elder brother, Nawaz, after treatment.