Pakistan poll body issues second notice to Imran Khan over violation of code of conduct

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 23 (ANI): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a second notice to Prime Minister Imran Khan over violation of the election code of conduct and asked him to submit a reply why he attended the Malakand public gathering ahead of the second phase of local government (LG) polls in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Ahead of the no-trust motion against PM, the district monitoring officer Malakand of the ECP issued notice to PM Imran Khan for submitting the clarification on attending the public gathering, reported ARY News.
In addition to the PM, the second notice was also issued to the federal ministers Ali Zaidi, Murad Saeed and others.
This is the second such notice been issued to Imran Khan as earlier on Monday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had served another notice to the premier for participating in a public gathering in Malakand district ahead of the second phase of LG polls.
Amid the controversy surrounding the horse-trading of Pakistani lawmakers, the ECP earlier responded to criticism from the country's Prime Minister Imran Khan by stating that the poll body has nothing to do with the no-trust motion against him.
A number of dissident lawmakers from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have said they would vote on the no-confidence motion tabled against Imran Khan in "accordance with their conscience".
In response to this, Cabinet ministers of the Imran Khan government asked Pakistan's top electoral body to play its role over reports of floor-crossing of the members of the national assembly (MNAs), under Article 63-A.
The spokesperson said that the notice was served over the premier's address to the public gathering in Malakand district. The ECP had also served notices to KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Federal Ministers Murad Ali, Ali Zaidi and Faisal Javed.
According to ARY News, the top office-bearers have been directed to submit the clarification over the code violation via in person or their lawyers. The political temperature is already rising in Pakistan as Imran Khan stares at the possible fallout of his seat.
Though exuding confidence in the failure of the no-trust move, Imran Khan has also intensified meetings with allies ahead of the session. Notably, in the 342-member National Assembly, the Imran Khan government requires at least 172 members to sail through the no-confidence vote, reported ARY News. (ANI)