PTI told to submit financial records by May 30

Party has failed to come up with records in foreign funding case

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday gave another chance to the PTI to submit financial records.

This was the third time since April 1, 2015 when the PTI did not produce the records in the foreign funding case despite written orders from the ECP.

The case has been pending since November 2014 when it was first filed by former PTI leader Akbar S Babar, alleging corruption and gross irregularities in collection of donations.



On December 1, 2016, the ECP had also ordered the PTI to submit its accounts or face ‘legal inferences’.

Soon after these directions, the PTI accused the ECP of ‘political bias’ which led to a contempt application against Imran Khan, the PTI chief, filed by Babar, the petitioner.

On May 8, 2017, the ECP once again declared its jurisdiction over the case after a fresh review on the orders of the Islamabad High Court and directed the PTI to produce the records by May 17.

The petitioner personally pleaded with the five-member bench of the ECP to note the ‘deliberate’ and ‘by choice’ refusal of the PTI to comply with the ECP orders.



He urged the ECP to exercise its constitutional powers and order the State Bank of Pakistan to produce the bank statements and other records demanded by the petitioner. He said the records are critical to the merits of the case.

The ECP gave one last chance to the PTI to produce the financial records and told it to comply with its orders by the next hearing date set for May 30, 2017.