ECP to hear PTI foreign funding case after 18-month gap

ECP sets Oct 1 for the date of hearing, sends notices to PTI, Akbar S Babar


Saqib Virk September 26, 2019
PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to hear the foreign funding case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after 18 months.

The ECP has set October 1 for the date of hearing and sent notices to the concerned parties - PTI and Akbar S Babar.

In 2014, on the application filed by Akbar S Babar, the foreign funding case was heard for a long time at ECP. A special committee was formed in March 2018 for the purpose

Two officers from the director-general law wing and auditor general office of ECP were included in the committee.

The committee had asked PTI for the details of its accounts against which PTI had challenged the authority of the ECP.

Sources said that the election commission would now examine the special committee’s progress report.

The ECP had also written letters to all the banks over non-provision of financial documents by the PTI.

Petitioner Akbar S Babar maintained that PTI had not declared all its bank's accounts before the commission.

The petitioner had alleged that the ruling party had lied with the election body by taking funds from prohibited sources.

Meanwhile, ECP issued notices to 42 political parties over non-submission of the consolidated statement of their accounts.

According to an ECP official, these political parties were supposed to submit a statement of accounts audited by a chartered accountant on Form-D mentioning their annual income, expenses, assets, liabilities, and sources of funds.

The official said these parties included Awami National Party (ANP), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Balochistan National Party (BNP), Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan-Noorani (JUP-N), Mohajir Qaumi Movement, Pakistan Muslim League, Pak Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z), Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (PST), Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Tehreek-e-Labbaik Islam (TLI), All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) and others.

He said, earlier, the election commission had reminded all members of the Parliament and provincial assemblies to submit their yearly statements of assets and liabilities on or before December 31.

The official said it was a mandatory requirement under Section 137 of Elections Act 2017, under which members of Senate, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies were required to submit the statements of their assets and liabilities with the Election Commission Secretariat including their spouses and children.

The ECP had also reminded, earlier, it would publish names of the members who failed to submit these statements within the period specified in sub-section 1.

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