Pakistan

ECP turns down Tehreek-e-Insaf plea

Party says the commission lacks power to investigate its finances

Our Correspondent October 09, 2015

Party says the commission lacks power to investigate its finances. PHOTO: ECP.GOV.PK

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Thursday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s plea that the poll body did not have the authority to hear a case regarding the party’s financial matters and scan its documents in this regard.

A five-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Muhammad Raza rejected PTI’s plea that questioned the constitutional jurisdiction of the ECP to hear the case filed in November 2014 by PTI founding member and the party’s former central information secretary Akbar S Babar. Babar had accused PTI of financial corruption and violation of laws in collecting donations and managing party funds.

The poll supervisory body passed an order on April 1 this year, stating that declarations made by PTI in their audit report do not disclose the source and details of foreign funds. Instead of complying with the order, PTI appointed a new lawyer, Anwar Mansoor Khan, who once against contested the jurisdiction of the ECP to hear the case instead of sharing foreign funding details.

The case has generated great public interest after evidence surfaced of PTI receiving funds from foreign nationals and companies, including Jewish-American Barry C Schneps and US-born Indian Indur Dosanjh.

The petitioner alleges that on the basis of evidence provided, PTI and its leadership has acted in utter violation of Articles 3, 5, 6, and 13 of the Political Parties Order, 2002 read with Rules 4, 5, 6 of the Political Parties Rules, 2002.

Addressing the media after the hearing, Babar said he was seriously considering former Punjab governor’s public challenge to him during a TV talk show to file a complaint in the US. Babar along with other founding members stated that a national conference was being planned in Islamabad to unite all PTI ideological workers from Pakistan and abroad. He said Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed would also be invited to the national conference to chalk a future strategy of saving the PTI from traditional politics and politicians and cleanse the party of corrupt elements.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2015.

COMMENTS (9)

nk | 9 years ago | Reply @Anon: ECP has never dared to ask anything ruling party does? what about blocking kissan package most recently? There are many other examples. But its a waste of time giving people like you any evidence. If cultists could see logic and facts, they would not be in a cult. IK has done one thing wonderfully well - its turned the youth of this country into blind, non-analytical, unquestioning zombies that regurgitate everything that the PTI twitter account spews.

pervaiz | 9 years ago | Reply Why this hue & cry from PTI if he is clean as claimed?? PTI can get complainant & rival parties ashamed by proving allegation wrong. Secondly PTI can challenge any party accounts before election commission and / or courts if he has some solid proof (proofs not like of 35 punctures and allegation on Iftikhar Ch) and get (Corrupt) parties banned from politics. IK can also request to form tribunal comprises of Justice Kazim Malik which is favorite one of IK.

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Anon | 9 years ago | Reply @Nk: "If someone brought a claim against other parties I’m sure they would investigate." You're joking right? The ECP has never ever dared to question anything the PMLN does.... Do they never wonder where all that money comes from? At least the PTI has a structure for donation... neither of the other two parties even has a system for public donation... so where do they get their funds? Has it just never occurred to the ECP to ask this question?

Saud | 9 years ago | Reply Why is the PTI contesting EC's authority to ask for its finances? If it is as clean as it claims to be, why not shut everybody up by submitting the accounts?

Parvez | 9 years ago | Reply Isn't ECP supposed to be a neutral body ?.........

Pakistani | 9 years ago | Reply @Nk: Strongly Agree...

Usman | 9 years ago | Reply No, the case has not generated public interest as it is the public itself that has donated to PTI. In addition, the ECP has the time to investigate the only legitimately funded party and not the business elite funded PMLN or the PPP? What an absolute joke

Nk | 9 years ago | Reply @ahmed: the Ecp is not unilaterally questioning ptis finances. It is in response to claims brought forward by a pti founding member and its former info secretary. If someone brought a claim against other parties I'm sure they would investigate. Also the investigation isn't just about finances. It's about being funded by foreign elements and corporations, something explicitly banned by a 2002 ordinance. Your message implies that pti is clean and this is just victimisation. If pti has nothing to hide then why not just reveal the information requested? Why the delays and constant lawyer changes. When people are guilty, they tend to act guilty. This is the same logic pti applies to others, why not use the same on themselves. It would be best not to be hypocritical about this. Lastly, these charges are not recent after the pti asked all provincial ecp heads to resign. They are from last year. It's just that the evidence was recently brought forward. Please be more analytical for the sake of this country, instead of blindly supporting one man and one party. That sounds like a cult. And cults never end well.

Ahmed | 9 years ago | Reply why not ask other political parties for their funds issue. is ECP just ridiculing pt? as pti was the only party which have been pressuring 4 provincial ecp members. by the way Barry C Schnep is a law firm in which a Pakistani Arif Chaudry who works in it donated for PTI. its a individual donation by a pakistani.

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