CM Afridi approaches PHC against ECP notice

Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has approached Peshawar High Court against notices issued to him by Election Commission of Pakistan, reported 24NewsHD TV Channel. 

CM Sohail Afridi pleaded that he was summoned by Election Commission without any reason or justification. 

He further claimed that Election Commission's summoning of the Chief Minister of KP was illegal. The CM said this order of the Election Commission was a violation of Articles 9, 10A, 17 and 25. 

Earlier, KP Chief Minister failed to appear before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday during the hearing of a notice issued over alleged threats to election officials, prompting the Chief Election Commissioner to announce that an interim order would be issued later in the day.

A four-member bench headed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) heard the matter at the ECP headquarters in Islamabad, where security was tightened with deployments from Islamabad Police, Rangers and the Frontier Constabulary (FC).

Although Chief Minister Afridi and candidate Shehrnaz Bano Omar Ayub did not attend the proceedings, CM Afridi’s counsel, Ali Bukhari, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General were present.

The CEC underlined that Afridi had been summoned in person, while Bukhari argued that an exemption request had been filed because the chief minister was attending a meeting.