Rahbar Committee of the Opposition Parties (JUI-F, PML-N, NP, PPP, ANP and PMAP) had submitted  a memorandum to ECP demanding daily hearings of the foreign funding case against PTI.

Opposition leaders Akram Khan Durrani, Ahsan Iqbal, National Party’s Tahir Bizenjo, Nayyar Bukhari, Farhatullah Babar, Mian Iftikhar, and Usman Khan Kakar in a rendezvous with ECP secretary submitted the document. Speaking to Newspakistan.tv Akram Khan Durrani pointed out that the case had been pending for the past five years and asked: “Why are those who claim to follow the model of the state of Madina so afraid of being held accountable for their actions? The delays in this case will prove very harmful for Pakistan. The ECP must conduct daily hearings and conclude this case as soon as possible.”

Ahsan Iqbal, speaking to the Media alleged that PTI had dozens of benami accounts for which the party had never provided details: “Funds coming in from countries including the United States, India, and the UAE are being deposited in the personal accounts of Imran Khan and his friends.” Interestingly the foreign fund case had been filed by Akbar S Babar before the ECP in 2014 following development of differences with PTI Chairman  over alleged internal corruption and abuse of laws governing political funding.

It is pertinent to mention here that the proceedings of the case were delayed for a year in the ECP as the PTI had filed a writ petition in IHC in October 2015 seeking to restrain ECP from scrutinizing its accounts. IHC, in February 2017, had remanded the case back to the ECP for a review of its jurisdiction. On 8th day May, 2017 a full bench of the ECP had once again declared its complete jurisdiction over the matter. In March 2019 a scrutiny committee was constituted in order to complete the audit of PTI’s funding sources in one month. Later on, its mandate was extended for an indefinite period. In October 2019, PTI’s request for secrecy during probe had been rejected by a three-member bench of ECP.

News Pakistan