ISLAMABAD: Keeping in view the Scrutiny Committee's failure to meet a previous deadline to complete the Foreign Funding Case, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has not fixed any deadline regarding the completion of the probe into all important case but it is hopeful that the committee's investigations would be completed and related report would be ready by March 31, 2021.

The commission was mulling over giving the Scrutiny Committee a fresh deadline to complete its probe, but did not do so keeping in view the backlash that could follow in case the committee failed to meet another deadline, it is learnt.

"There was a lot of criticism from politicians, public and press after the Scrutiny Committee failed to furnish its report into Foreign Funding Case in October. This time, it is deemed suitable not to give any deadline but we are very much hopeful that the committee would submit its report to ECP latest by March 31 next year or anytime before that," said an ECP source privy to the matter.

The source said the ECP has kept this option open- to give the Scrutiny Committee a deadline to complete its report, and the commission may do so once it is sure that the report would be ready by the given deadline.

On August 27 this year, the Scrutiny Committee submitted its report into Foreign Finding Case to the ECP 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 related to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), 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.

This implies that the committee now has 'indefinite' time at its disposal to complete its probe. 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 scrutinize the funds of PTI and to submit its report in a month but the committee could not 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 the PTI and fixed November 26 as the date to commence proceedings of the case, after a gap of 20 months.

Before the November 26 hearing, the ECP last held the regular hearing of Foreign Funding Case in March 2018 when the Scrutiny Committee was formed to scrutinize the PTI funds. The PTI also requested the ECP that the Foreign Funding Case related to the PML-N and the PPP should also be heard by the ECP.

The ECP accepted this demand and also commenced proceedings of Foreign Funding Case related to the PML-N and the PPP from November 26. The three-member Scrutiny Committee is headed by ECP's Director General (Law) Muhammad Arshad as its Chairman and includes DG (Audit) Defence Services Masood Akhtar Sherwani, and Controller Accounts Air Force Muhammad Faheem as its members.

Shah Khawar is PTI's counsel in the case whereas Ahmad Hassan represents Akbar Babar. The PML-N is represented by Jahangir Jadoon and the PPP is represented by Shehbaz Khosa.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020