Foreign funding case: PTI to submit next week objections against record submitted by PML-N, PPP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), next week, would submit its objections to the record submitted by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to the Scrutiny Committee in Foreign Funding case.

In its objections, the ruling party is expected to take the stance that both major opposition parties “failed” to justify their funding from abroad, according to informed officials.

Receipts, statements and other relevant proofs are missing from the record submitted by the two parties related to their overseas donations/contributions, it is reliably learnt.

It is alleged that PML-N has not provided the bank statements of seven of its nine bank accounts probed by the Scrutiny Committee.

In addition, PPP and Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) have allegedly exchanged more than 10 million rupees with each other.

On the other hand, PTI has claimed that it fully complied with the Scrutiny Committee’s instructions and submitted the record of 40,000 donors and 16 volumes containing the detailed evidence of overseas contributions/donations.

State Information Minister Farrukh Habib has publically stated that the record including the details of donations from overseas Pakistanis including LCC (life cycle costing) account, the names, addresses, computerised national identity card numbers and contact numbers of the overseas donors, the details of related bank transactions, relevant bank statements, and receipts of relevant financial activities were submitted by the PTI to the committee.

When contacted, senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah denied that N-League failed to provide record of overseas donations or contributions in Foreign Funding case. “This case is all about PTI’s dirty finances. We have nothing to hide. Instead of coming clean, the PTI is levelling counteraccusations against PML-N in hopeless bid to hide its corrupt practices. But we will not let it escape,” he told Business Recorder.

Former chairman Senate Nayyar Bukhari from PPP said the PPP would respond to PTI’s objections before Scrutiny Committee.

“All bank accounts of PPP and PPP-P are duly audited and maintained in a transparent manner. Instead of worrying about us, the PTI better put its own house in order,” he said.

Earlier on Monday, ECP decided to fix Foreign Funding case for regular hearing from the coming January 4.

On 27th August 2020, the Scrutiny Committee submitted its first report to ECP regarding Foreign Funding case but the commission rejected this report, termed it incomplete and directed the committee to refurnish the report latest by October 22, 2020, but the committee failed to meet this deadline.

The next day, on October 23, the ECP expressed “satisfaction” over the Scrutiny Committee’s progress into Foreign Funding case and allowed the panel to go ahead with the probe and complete the final report as “early as possible” but did not specify any timeframe in this regard.

In November 2021, the committee finally completed its probe and submitted the report to the ECP.

In November 2014, Akbar Sher Babar, one of the founding members of PTI, moved the ECP accusing the PTI of being a foreign-funded party and seeking action against it in accordance with related constitutional provisions.

In March 2018, the ECP formed the Scrutiny Committee to scrutinise the funds of PTI and to submit its report in a month but the committee failed to furnish its report within the given timeline.

The ECP on November 21, 2019, decided to accept the request of opposition parties to conduct on daily basis the hearing of the Foreign Funding Case related to PTI. The ruling party also requested the ECP that the Foreign Funding case related to PML-N and PPP should also be heard by the ECP.

The ECP accepted this demand and commenced, besides PTI, the proceedings of Foreign Funding Case related to the PML-N and the PPP from November 26, 2019.

The three-member Scrutiny Committee is headed by ECP’s Director General (Law) Muhammad Arshad as its Chairman, and DG (Audit) Defence Services Masood Akhtar Sherwani and Controller Accounts Air Force Muhammad Faheem as its members.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022