Islamabad June 22 2022: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday reserved the verdict in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) “foreign funding” case after about eight years.
The ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja reserved the decision after the completion of a briefing by financial expert Arsalan Wardak on behalf of the PTI’s founding member Akbar S Babar.
Arsalan Wardak said it was a recognized fact that money had come from the United Kingdom. The PTI also did not deny of receipt of $49,000 from a UAE company.
He said the PTI had received funds from 13 countries, and the details of donors were not available. The Australian agent wrote that there was no record of 41,000 dollars.
Arsalan Wardak said 41 out of 50 banks did not respond to the queries of the scrutiny committee.There might be accounts in the non-responding banks.The PTI ignored the principles and standards of audit as the donors were not third parties but its own companies, he added.
The CEC remarked that as the hearing of PTI case had been completed, the ECP wanted to dispose of the cases of other political parties also.
Akbar S Babar, in his case filed in 2014, alleged major irregularities in the party’s finances, including in funding from abroad. The ECP conducted over 95 hearings of the case, while its scrutiny committee also held more than 96 sessions.
