PTI urges ECP to probe ‘variations’ in PML-N accounts

Says in case of no probe, PTI will file a petition against PML-N’s funding

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take notice of the alleged discrepancies in the accounts of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry maintained that the PML-N never got their accounts duly audited nor did it maintain a proper record of its funding in accordance with the requirements of the Political Parties Order of 2002.

“The PML-N is used to hiding the Sharif family’s black money. There is a discrepancy between the accounts of the PML-N and Nawaz Sharif,” he alleged, raising questions about the PML-N’s party structure, saying that it had no registered office anywhere in the country and had no record of its finances.



A case has been pending with the ECP against the PTI since November 2014 in which the party is accused of corruption and irregularities in collection of party funds.

The PTI had approached the Supreme Court challenging the ECP jurisdiction on the matter. The ECP told the top court that the party concealed information about foreign funds allegedly received through prohibited sources.

According to ECP requirements, all political parties are bound to share details of their annual incomes, expenditures and sources of income with the ECP under the Political Parties Order of 2002.

Discussing the ECP requirements, Chaudhry said all parties have to submit certificates with the electoral watchdog, stating that the PTI had not received funding from any prohibited source.

He insisted that PML-N’s certificate could not be validated as the ECP record showed that its funds had not been thoroughly audited. He stated that PML-N spent nearly Rs1.3 billion on its election campaign in the 2013 general election, but the party did not provide any record of this spending.



“There is no description or detail of PML-N’s funding in Punjab. Between 2013 and 2015, the PML-N only had Rs760,000 in its accounts. And this figure did not fluctuate over this period,” said the PTI spokesperson.

He added that despite no single seat in the provincial assembly, PML-N’s Sindh chapter was much more affluent than that in Punjab, holding Rs50 million in its accounts.

“This means that between 2013 and 2015, the PML-N did not spend a single penny on the party in Punjab. When you hold press conferences on public taxes, how can party funds be utilised?” he said.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Islamabad, PML-N’s funds were not audited at all.

Chaudhry said that all political parties are required by the ECP to hire a top-notch firm to get their funds audited, but the PML-N did not comply with this rule as well.



He said the Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) reported that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif donated Rs10 billion to the party but later withdrew Rs6 billion. “Sharif is using the party to hide his black money,” he alleged.

This fact was not even mentioned in PML-N’s account details available with the ECP, he said, adding that the PTI would request the ECP to take notice of the irregularities in PML-N's accounts.

“If the ECP fails to do so, the PTI will file a petition against PML-N’s funding,” he said.