Foreign funding case: ECP to conduct hearing on daily basis

With a couple of weeks remaining for the incumbent Chief Election Commissioner Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza (retd) to retire, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday accepted the request of opposition parties to conduct daily hearings of the foreign funding case involving the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

An ECP bench headed by the CEC conducted hearing on the opposition parties' application and declared it maintainable before fixing November 26 as the date to commence proceedings of the case on a daily basis.

Earlier on Wednesday last, the leaders of the Rahbar Committee, an alliance of nine anti-government political parties led by Akram Durrani, the committee's convenor, visited the ECP headquarters and met Secretary ECP Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad before submitting an application addressed to the CEC regarding foreign funding case.

In the application, the opposition leaders, except those of Jamaat-e-Islami which is not part of the Rahbar Committee, urged the CEC that "in the interest of justice, the said case may be heard on daily basis and decided at the earliest during the term of this commission."

CEC Raza is retiring on the coming December 5 and it seems unlikely that the foreign funding case would be completed in his term at the ECP, sources in the ECP told Business Recorder.

On September 26 this year, the ECP decided to resume hearing of over five-year old foreign funding case and issued notices to the parties to the case.

In November 2014, Akbar Sher Babar, one of the founding members of the PTI, had moved the ECP accusing the PTI of being a foreign-funded party and seeking action against it in accordance with related constitutional provisions. The case has since been pending and its last hearing was held in March 2018. In the same month last year, the ECP formed a scrutiny committee headed by Director General (Law) Muhammad Arshad to scrutinise the funds of PTI and submit its report in a month but the committee has not furnished its report.

On October 1, the ECP reserved verdict on four pleas filed by the PTI which requested the Commission to maintain 'secrecy' in the scrutiny of funding' details of the party in the case on the grounds that 'false' news was being leaked about the PTI funds, which, the ruling party said, was an attempt to malign it. On October 10, the ECP announced the reserved verdict and rejected the PTI pleas.

Sources in the ECP told Business Recorder that it is very difficult to establish that any political party is foreign funded since the Constitution bars foreign funding from any group or organisation but foreign funding is permissible by individuals to political parties in the Constitution of Pakistan. "Political parties usually take funds from individuals, not groups or entities. It is therefore very difficult to establish that a political party has received funds from any group, and not an individual, and that it should be proceeded against as per law," said an ECP official.

The Section 6 (3) of Political Parties Order 2002 reads, "Any contribution made, directly or indirectly, by any foreign government, multi-national or domestically incorporated public or private company, firm, trade or professional association shall be prohibited and the parties may accept contributions and donations only from individuals."

In the light of the relevant electoral laws in Pakistan, foreign funded political parties are not allowed to exist and any such political party be dissolved.

The Section 15 of Political Parties Order 2002 reads, "Dissolution of a political party- Where the federal government is satisfied that a political party is a foreign-aided party or has been formed or is operating in a manner prejudicial to the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan or is 66 indulging in terrorism, it shall make such declaration by a notification in the official Gazette-Within fifteen days of making a declaration- the Federal Government shall refer the matter to the Supreme Court whose decision on such reference shall be final-Where the Supreme Court upholds the declaration made against a political party under clause- such party shall stand dissolved forthwith."

The Section 4 (1) (f) of the same Order reads "-a political party shall not-be formed, organise, set-up or convened as a foreign-aided political party."