ECP rejects PTI’s appeal, orders to submit details

• Babar’s counsel points out PTI’s US bank accounts
• PTI’s counsel says to submit details after SC decision

Rejecting request of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday directed the party to submit details of foreign funding on September 7.

A five-member commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza after hearing the arguments of both the parties’ counsels, dismissed the PTI’s application for delaying ECP’s proceeding on foreign funding case, filed by PTI founding member and former central leader Akbar S Babar.

In his arguments, Babar’s counsel Ahmad Hassan requested the commission to continue proceeding on the party funding case and issue the order for the production of all the documents without any further delay. He said that the commission should make a decision in accordance with the law rather on the wishes of PTI.

He said that the party was intentionally hiding the source of its foreign funding from the commission. He said that it was not a matter of jurisdiction but a matter of merit and appealed the ECP to issue the order in this case on merit. He said that PTI has adopted a habit of submitting the application on every date of the proceeding.

The counsel said that this was very embarrassing that every time they come up with new apprehensions just to linger on this case in ECP. Every time, they try to get further time, he said and questioned why PTI was reluctant to present all the details of the foreign funding. He said that PTI has a different stance on the same matter in different courts.

He said that the ECP has just submitted its opinion regarding its jurisdiction with the Supreme Court and that it didn’t present a fact report as being said by the PTI counsel. Hassan requested the commission that PTI should not be given further relief and it should be stopped further giving applications to ECP.

“This is a joke with the system. They want to stop things which is not fair,” he said. The PTI was also hiding before the court the details of its accounts in the US, he said, adding that PTI must produce statements of its bank accounts in the US.

PTI counsel Anwar Mansoor Khan said that PTI would submit its foreign funding details after having clarity on the jurisdiction of ECP on the matter. He said that same issue was being discussed in the Supreme Court and requested the commission to suspend the proceeding till the decision of the apex court on the matter.

Talking to media outside the Election Commission, Akbar said that Imran Khan was a proclaimed offender. He lauded today’s decision of the ECP and said that Imran’s tall claim of promoting neat and clean politics has already been proved false. “He (Imran) is promoting politics of inheritance,” he said.

He said that Imran stuck himself as the party chairman for the last 20 years by hook and crook by conducting doubtful and unfair intra-party elections. He (Imran) also appointed his favourites on key party posts, he pointed out.

Akbar said that the PTI chief had disbanded the Ehtasaab Commission in Pakhtunkhwa instead of making the province corruption-free. Akbar’s counsel Ahmad Hassan said that the ECP has dismissed the PTI’s application of stay in foreign funding case and ordered to submit all documents of foreign funding in next hearing.

The ECP has issued order on merit as PTI was intentionally delaying the matter by presenting application on every date of reference, he said, adding that now PTI has to declare its sources of prohibited funding from abroad. He said PTI has to prove that all funding was received through fair way and means.

He said that in case of confirmation of collecting funds from prohibited means, there would investigation from PTI’s responsible finance committee members while the confiscation of amount was also likely if they were found involved in the prohibited funding.

With inputs from APP