PTI’s plea to keep funding details secret rejected

ECP approves PTI lawyer's plea, seeks reply till February 1

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected the request of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to keep parts of the scrutiny committee’s findings in the foreign funding case a secret.

“Nothing will be kept a secret,” Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja said while chairing a three-member bench hearing the foreign funding case on Tuesday.

Former attorney general Anwar Mansoor appeared before the Election Commission on behalf of the PTI, saying that the scrutiny of political parties by the Election Commission is welcome.

“It is another matter that the PTI was scrutinised first,” he said, claiming that there were several flaws in the scrutiny committee report.

Also read: Babar issues report on PTI foreign funding

“Many of the statistics in the report cannot be understood and don’t know where they came from while several are repeated.”

Mansoor said that he was engaged in the case two days ago. “I need time. I would like to see some things in it. If we have some mistakes then we will admit then but if there are any mistakes of the committee, they should be corrected.”

Akbar S Babar’s lawyer said that some parts of the report of the scrutiny committee were not given to us.

CEC Raja said that the scrutiny committee's request to keep some parts of the report a secret has been rejected. “Now, no document is secret.”

Also read: ECP upholds scrutiny body's decision in PTI foreign funding case

During the hearing, the head of the scrutiny committee appeared before the Election Commission, saying that the scrutiny committee has become inactive due to the retirement of one member.

The case of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is similar.

The CEC said that the scrutiny committee would be reconstituted.

The ECP approved the PTI lawyer's plea for respite in the funding case and sought a reply till February 1.

Talking to media outside the Election Commission, State Minister Farrukh Habib said, “The PTI’s funding from India and Israel has not been proved anywhere. The accusers should apologise.”

Also read: PTI ‘vindicated’ in foreign funding case

He said that PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto would have to give the details for the funding of their parties to the Election Commission.

Petitioner Akbar S Babar said, “When all the secret records come to light, there will be more revelations.”

He said, “Our allegations have been substantiated in the report. It remains to be proved on what scale illegal funding took place.

“The message for (Prime Minister) Imran Khan is that this is not my personal war, it is Pakistan's war.”