Justice Kayani also ordered the ECP and petitioner to submit their respective replies. Photo: Islamabad High Court website

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)?s petition to stop the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from hearing the party?s alleged illegal funding case was rejected by the Islamabad High Court on Friday.

The bench, headed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, also rejected PTI?s plea to issue a stay order in the case. He remarked that the case has been ongoing since 2014 and has been referred back to the ECP.

Justice Kayani also ordered the ECP and the petitioner to submit their respective replies. The case was adjourned until further notice.

In 2014, a former member of PTI, Akbar S Babar, filed a petition seeking disqualification of PTI Chairman Imran Khan for allegedly taking funding from illegal sources and discrepancies in the party?s accounts.

Moreover, Babar had claimed that funds worth $3 million were collected by PTI?s chief through illegal channels from the Middle East to accounts of PTI members.

Earlier, PTI had challenged ECP?s jurisdiction in the case but Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Raza Khan rejected the party?s petition challenging its authority and ruled that ECP has the jurisdiction to continue with the case.

The ECP is hearing two separate cases related to PTI's 'foreign funding' whereas in the Supreme Court, a case is being heard on the petition of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz?s Hanif Abbasi, who has alleged that the PTI chief should be disqualified for concealing his assets and receiving foreign funding.