ECP has ruled Imran Khan’s party received funding from sources prohibited under elections rules in Pakistan.
By Ahmer Kureishi & Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has ruled that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former Prime Minister Imran Khan has received funding prohibited under the country’s electoral rulebook.
A three-member bench of the ECP, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and ECP members Nisar Ahmed Durrani and Shah Muhammad Jatoi announced the unanimous verdict — reserved in June earlier this year.
Related: PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry finds ECP ruling flawed
The ECP said PTI had disclosed eight bank accounts while keeping 13 hidden. The ECP has decided to issue PTI a show-cause notice to explain why the commission should not seize the funds it received.
After processing the notice, it says it will forward its recommendations for action to the federal government.
UPDATE 7: ECP identifies 15 sources of prohibited funding
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has identified 15 prohibited sourcing of funding used by PTI to fill its coffers. Here is a partial screenshot of page 67 the 70-page reoprt.
UPDATE 6: Full text of the verdict
Here is the full text of the ECP verdict in the prohibited funding case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
UPDATE 5: Companies used to funnel funds to PTI
The ECP says PTI used to funnel a company each in the United States and Australia to funnel funding from foreign sources into its coffers. They are Dunpec Pty Ltd, Australia; and PTI USA LLC, United States.
UPDATE 4: Babar claims cindication, pushes for transparency
Petitioner Akbar S Babar has said that all my allegations have been confirmed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (EC), funding received from the US, Australia and the UK.
Related: Baber urges Khan to step down as PTI Chief
He said say PTI also received funds from an Arab Sheikh, and added this decision of ECP would increase pressure on political parties for transparency. “We will expect the Election Commission to take forward the cases of other parties as well.”
To a question, he said that during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, he wrote a letter to Chaudhry Nisar about the financial irregularities of then government, which was not answered.
UPDATE 3: PTI’s delaying tactics
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) verdict relates how the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former Prime Minister Imran Khan used delaying tactics in the case.
The Election Commission directed PTI 21 times to provide documents and financial records, 95 meetings of the Scrutiny Committee were held in which 24 times PTI sought adjournment while PTI filed 4 petitions against the presence of the petitioner in the Committee.
The Scrutiny Committee issued 20 orders that PTI should provide relevant documents, the Election Commission rejected the report submitted by the Scrutiny Committee in August 2020 stating that the report was incomplete and not detailed.
The case was filed in the Election Commission by Akbar S Babar, a founder member and former vice-president of PTI, on November 14, 2014.
UPDATE-2: Guilty as Charged: PTI received prohibited funding
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has ruled that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former Prime Minister Imran Khan has received funding prohibited under the country’s electoral rulebook.
In a unanimous verdict, the ECP ruled that the PTI received funds from business tycoon Arif Naqvi and from 34 foreign nationals. The party received funds from US, Australia, and UAE.
The commission said PTI chief Imran Khan had submitted misdeclaration on bank accounts with the commission.
A three-member bench of the ECP, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and ECP members Nisar Ahmed Durrani and Shah Muhammad Jatoi announced the unanimous verdict — reserved in June earlier this year.
The ECP said PTI had disclosed eight bank accounts while keeping 13 hidden. The ECP has decided to issue PTI a show-cause notice to explain why the commission should not seize the funds it received.
After processing the notice, it says it will forward its recommendations for action to the federal government.
PTI’s dilly-dallying
The Election Commission directed PTI 21 times to provide documents and financial records, 95 meetings of the Scrutiny Committee were held in which 24 times PTI sought adjournment while PTI filed 4 petitions against the presence of the petitioner in the Committee.
The Scrutiny Committee issued 20 orders that PTI should provide relevant documents, the Election Commission rejected the report submitted by the Scrutiny Committee in August 2020 stating that the report was incomplete and not detailed.
The case was filed in the Election Commission by Akbar S Babar, a founder member and former vice-president of PTI, on November 14, 2014.
Earlier story: ECP all set to rule in prohibited funding case
All is set for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to rule in the prohibited funding case against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that has held the nation’s attention for about eight years now.
The ECP completed its hearing into the matter on June 21, 2022, but reserved its ruling to be announced at a later date and time. Word finally came yesterday that the Commission is ready to announce its verdict on August 2, 2022 at 10:00 am.
Khan and his party have been agitated about the case and the ruling. Their lawyers slow-rolled the case all they could – and the CEC did not try to curtail their delaying tactics in the interest of justice and propriety.
Since the completion of the proceedings, in particular, Khan has vociferously and repeatedly called for the Chief Election Commissioner – who has been spearheading the proceedings since his appointment to the position – to resign.
Last week, he stepped up his smear campaign against the senior bureaucrat known for his integrity and steadfastness, announcing his intention to bring a reference against him in the Supreme Judicial Council.
On Monday, he announced his plans to hold a protest demonstration against the CEC in front of the ECP. The CEC seems to have beat him to the ruling, rendering his protest irrelevant.
Almost equally agitated over the delay in the announcement of the verdict have been Khan’s detractors. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in particular has been making noises in the media for over a month now for the verdict to be announced soon.
Last week, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself released a short video ranting over the delay. The time it seems has arrived for all sides to stop complaining and start listening.
Keep watching this space for the verdict as it arrives – and for our follow-up on it.
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