Opposition Members Of Rehbar Committee Asks ECP To Take Up PTI's Foreign Funding Case

(@fidahassanain)

Opposition members of Rehbar Committee asks ECP to take up PTI's foreign funding case

The members of the committee also moved an application before Secretary of the ECP, saying that foreign funding case against PTI was pending for last five years.

ISLAMABAD:(Urdu Point/Pakistan Point News-Nov 20th, 2019) The opposition's Rehbar Committee on Wednesday demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan to hear case regarding scrutiny of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) foreign funds.

Appearing before the secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan, the members of the Rehbar Committee submitted memorandum, pleading that the case of foreign funding against PTI should be heard.

Akbar S. Babar, one of the founding members of PTI, had moved the petition before the ECP in 2014 and alleged that around $3 million weere collected by the party through its two offshore companies and that money was sent through illegal hundi channels from middle East to the accounts of various PTI leaders. The PTI, he further alleged, concealed foreign accounts and the details of collected funds from the annual audit reports submittted to the ECP.

In October, the ECP rejected four appliations moved by PTI seeking secrecy regarding the scrutiny of its foreign funding sources. Last year in March, a scrutiny committee was made to complete an audit of PTI's funding sources in one month. However, its mandate was later extended for an indefinite period.

On Wednesday Rehbar Committee comprising JUI-F leader Akram Durrani, PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal, PPP stalwart Farhatullah Babar and Nayyar Bukhari took part in the meeting as well as the protest that followed.

"We must demand that the case should be heard on daily basis to avoid delay," said Akram Durani, addinng that "once the case is concluded, neither PTI nor the current government would remain power,". He went on to say that all parties were conocerned assa to why this case was pending.

"There are some cases which are heard on daily basis and NAB calls us three times a week but the delay in this case is beyond our understanding," he further said.

They also urged the media to focus PTI's foreign funding case on daily basis.

They expressed concerns that the case of PTI's foreign funding has been pending for last five years and now a fresh petition was being moved for immediate hearinig of the case. Ahsan Iqbal said that it was the biggest corruption scandal in Pakistan's politics. He demanded that the cases against leadership of his party should be heart in open trials. Chief Election Commissioner, however, take up this matter of foreign funding and dispose it off during his tenure, because it was very important case, he added.

Fida Hussnain

Fida Hussnain is a lahore based journalist. He writes on politics, religion, social issues and climate change. He is also a research fellow at University of Gujrat.