Foreign companies can’t give funds to any political party: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday while terming the scrutiny of political parties’ accounts a matter of public importance observed that foreign companies cannot give funds to any political party.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Umer Ata Bandyal and Justice Faisal Arab, resumed hearing in the petitions filed by the PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi, seeking disqualification of the PTI chief Imran Khan and secretary general Jehangir Tareen over their alleged tax evasion.

Justice Umer Ata Bandyal observed that this is a public importance case wherein a question has been raised on a political party getting foreign funding. He said that a standard should be set for politics in the country.

During the hearing, Anwar Mansoor Khan, counsel for the PTI, submitted before the court that besides other political parties, the PML-N has also a registered company in the United Kingdom, collecting funds there.

The PTI counsel submitted a document wherein it was stated that the PML-N has also registered a company in Wales called PML-N UK under the Companies Act 2006 in September 2015. According to the said document, the company has been registered with the name Zubair Gul with appointment of secretary Javed Iqbal and its aims and objectives are to promote democracy, peace, prosperity, social justice and the rule of law in Pakistan. The company is also formed to strengthen democratic institutions of Pakistan and to enlarge the Pakistanis based overseas and in particular in UK to participate in the politics of Pakistan as enunciated by the PML-N and to promote its ideology.

Anwar Mansoor orally submitted to the court that other parties like the MQM, APML, PPP and government of Pakistan have formed their firms in America for raising donations, funds to run their campaigns. He submitted that the PTI has   formed Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the United States which acts as party’s agent there to collect funds from Pakistanis living there and to grants them membership to the party. He said the manner in which the party is getting donations from the party members abroad was not an illegal act. He said the PTI company is registered under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) on the name of an individual.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar asked the counsel whether individuals, holding dual nationalities, could become members of political parties in Pakistan. Anwar Mansoor replied in affirmative.

At this, Justice Faisal Arab, another member of the bench, asked the counsel that he accepts that that funds were collected from abroad but he don’t want the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to question him as well. Anwar Mansoor replied that the Election Commission does not have the jurisdiction to scrutinise the party’s account. “It is my point that once the Election Commission made public the assets and accounts it means it was accepted by the Election Commission and it cannot be reopened,” Anwar Mansoor said.

Meanwhile, Naeem Bukhari, counsel for Imran Khan, while commencing his arguments contended that his client was a professional cricketer from 1971 to 1992 and also played for two counties in UK including Sussex and Yorkshire during the year 1971 to 1979. Furthermore, he said that his client had earned the money from playing cricket and purchased a flat in London in 1983. The counsel further said that his client was the sole owner of the flat and no other asset was placed under the Niazi Services Limited (NSL) at any point except the London flat. Naeem Bukhari further said that his client had purchased the Banigala land in March 2002 and the land was declared as belonging to the dependent (his wife).

Meanwhile, the court asked Naeem Bukhari to answer two questions; one as to what type of assets are mandatory to be disclosed in the electoral law and whether a Pakistani citizen is required under the Income Tax law to disclose his/her foreign assets as well and adjourned further hearing until today (Thursday).