ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to fix for regular hearing the Foreign Funding Case— related to ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)— from the coming January 4.

The decision has been taken in a top-level ECP meeting that has reviewed the report of Scrutiny Committee submitted to electoral body last month, it is learnt.

The panel probed the ruling party’s finances in Foreign Funding Case.

On August 27 last year, the Scrutiny Committee submitted its first report to ECP regarding PTI’s finances in 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.

On October 23 last year, 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.

Last month, 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 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.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021