ISLAMABAD: The ruling party PTI moved the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday to hold hearing of Foreign Funding case on daily basis while the ECP would conduct hearing of this case related to PML-N and PPP on the coming Monday (January 18).
In this context, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader MNA Farrukh Habib submitted his application to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja seeking proceedings of Foreign Funding case on daily basis.
Speaking to media at the ECP, Habib said Supreme Court ordered the ECP in Hanif Abbasi case in 2016 to scrutinise the funds of all political parties registered with the ECP.
He said the PTI has submitted its entire record of $40,000 in Foreign Funding case to the Scrutiny Committee. He challenged Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to appear before ECP on January 18 — the date ECP fixed for Foreign Funding case hearing related to Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
He said the PML-N and PPP were involved in foreign funding, which, he said is why both are shying away from submitting record in ECP.
“I ask fake chairman Bilawal and Panama Queen Maryam — to show courage and appear before the ECP on January 18,” he said.
The PTI lawmaker showed documents to the media, saying these documents were evidence of foreign funding and money laundering by PML-N and PPP.
Habib said PPP hired lobbyists in the United States and paid Marc Siegel $340,000 “in a desperate bid to help them get NRO.”
He said: “When you (Maryam and Bilawal) assemble outside ECP for protests on January 19, do come up with receipts and proofs that are sought by ECP in Foreign Funding case.” All the evidence regarding PPP’s connections with Marc Siegel is present online, the PTI leader said.
“When their accounts would be scrutinised, you would get to know—how Nawaz Sharif gave Rs 100 million to his party and then deposited back Rs 40 million out of these Rs 100 million in his account,” he said.
Habib said the PML-N has even passed the buck on media to justify its financial transactions showing in its record that hefty payments of millions of rupees were made to television news channels. “The PML-N and PPP cannot run away from reality. They know what lies in store for them once their accounts are scrutinised. That’s why they are crying foul. We have presented ourselves for accountability. So should they. Unlike them, we would not cry foul and we would not accuse the state institutions of witch-hunt,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Scrutiny Committee met for the third consecutive day on Friday to re-examine the record provided by the ruling party in Foreign Funding case.
From Monday onwards, the ECP would re-examine the record of PML-N and PPP in Foreign Funding case. Last week, the ECP expressed concern over slow pace of progress in Foreign Funding case and directed the Scrutiny Committee to meet thrice a week to complete Foreign Funding case proceedings and re-submit its report accordingly.
Few days back, PTI said it submitted its entire record to the Scrutiny Committee in the Foreign Funding case.
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, according to an ECP official.
The three-member Scrutiny Committee is headed by ECP 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.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021