Foreign funding case outlives CEC tenure

Meeting of Scrutiny Committee postponed until December 12

ISLAMABAD: Rumours that the foreign funding case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will be decided during the tenure of the current Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Justice (retd) Sardar Raza, died away on Wednesday, as a meeting of the scrutiny committee could not take place.

The meeting of the scrutiny committee could not be held because of the absence of the director general law, who headed the panel. Therefore, the hearing was postponed until December 12. The incumbent CEC is retiring on December 6.

Besides the ruling PTI, the Scrutiny Committee is also looking into the funding of two major opposition parties – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). PTI leader Farrukh Habib had demanded of the ECP to announce its decision on the same day.

During the Scrutiny Committee hearing, PTI’s lawyer Shah Khawar, and applicant Akbar S Ahmed and his counsel were present. Babar later spoke to media after the meeting. “The meeting could not be held because of personal engagements of the head of the Scrutiny Committee,” he told reporters.

Babar said that PTI was issuing “odd” statements. “The PTI is demanding a mass decision. We have been hearing mass weddings but never heard of mass decision,” he said. “This demand of the PTI is very funny. The PTI wants to stop the scrutiny process.”

Babar said that he was not fighting with Prime Minister Imran Khan but actually he was fighting against the system, he alleged that the PTI was running away from scrutiny and creating hurdles in the way of justice.

He also mentioned the vacant posts of two members of the ECP. “The positions of two members are still empty. It is incompetence of the incumbent government that their accounts have faults and they are trying to hide.

During a previous meeting, the scrutiny committee had sought copies of the computerised national identity cards (CNICs) of the local individuals who gave donations to the PPP and the PML-N during the period between 2013 and 2015.

The PML-N promised to provide the CNICs of the donors if it could find them but the PPP questioned the panel’s jurisdiction to seek the document that was not a requirement under the law. The Scrutiny Committee will reconvene on December 11 to take up the cases of the two parties.

Farrukh Habib, the parliamentary secretary for Railways, while talking to the media outside the ECP on Tuesday, urged the ECP to announce its decisions with regards the foreign funding cases all the three political parties on the same day.

Habib alleged that the PML-N thought it would never face questions about billions of rupees transactions but the PTI had made it possible. He reiterated that the PML-N would not be allowed to run away from accountability.

PML-N leader Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, while talking to the media, rejected the PTI allegations. He also called on the ECP that the proceedings of the Scrutiny Committee should be opened for the media persons.

PPP’s counsel Sardar Latif Khosa said alleged that the PTI had “undoubtedly” obtained funds from prohibited sources and continued to use delaying tactics. “The PTI has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) multiple times to stall the scrutiny committee’s proceedings,” he said.