ECP reserves verdict on PTI foreign funding case

Tehreek-e-Insaf’s counsel says scrutiny parameters were not observed by committee as per apex court’s judgment

ISLAMABAD: A three-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday reserved its verdict on applications filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) requesting secrecy in the scrutiny of its foreign funding case.

The commission headed by Chief Election Commission (CEC) Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan heard the arguments on various applications submitted by the PTI to the scrutiny committee with a request to take notice of its concerns.

PTI counsel Saqlain Haider informed the commission that the scrutiny parameters were not observed by the committee as per Supreme Court judgment.

He appealed the court to take notice of the leakages of information to the media. He said that PTI had submitted all the details to the scrutiny committee but it violated its mandate and made direct contacts with the banks to acquire information.

Haider noted that during committee's proceedings, Akbar S Babar – the petitioner of the case - with malafide intention had tried to defame PTI through media, while sharing wrong information about party funding.

The commission was informed that the scrutiny committee had established terms of reference (TORs) in the light of Supreme Court order but later continued its proceedings against its notion.

The PTI counsel said when the case was with the committee, media hype was created against PTI regarding foreign funding case.
Putting the blame on the petitioner, he said that misinformation was being spread regarding the committee with the purpose of maligning the political party.

The chief election commissioner inquired as to what had happened in five and a half years that PTI’s founding member, Babar, was now being accused of malice.

Babar's lawyer Ahmed Hassan said that the State Bank of Pakistan had told the scrutiny committee about 23 accounts which received party funding.

According to Hassan, people within the party had leaked information to the television reports they were mentioning.
He alleged that the party was using information being leaked as an excuse and running away [from the case].

The bench reserved the verdict till October 10.

Former PTI member and petitioner Akbar S Babar had filed the foreign funding case before the ECP in 2014, alleging that nearly $3 million in illegal foreign funds were collected through two offshore companies, and that money was sent through illegal 'hundi' channels from the Middle East to accounts of PTI employees.

He has also alleged that the foreign accounts used to collect funds were concealed from the annual audit reports submitted to the ECP.
For over a year, the proceedings of the case were delayed in the ECP as the PTI had filed a writ petition in October 2015 in the Islamabad High Court seeking to restrain ECP from the scrutiny of its accounts.

In February 2017, the IHC remanded the case back to the ECP for a fresh review of its jurisdiction. On May 8, the same year, a full bench of ECP stated that PTI had failed to produce any evidence that the petitioner had been expelled from the party.

In March 2018, a scrutiny committee was formed to look into PTI foreign funding accounts.