Foreign funding: ECP issues notices to PTI, PPP, PML-N

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued notices for June 20 to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for scrutiny of their foreign funding details.

The Election Commission’s three-member scrutiny committee, formed last year, will carry out scrutiny of the accounts of these three mainstream political parties in relation to their foreign funding. The PTI, which had moved the Election Commission, alleges that there are massive irregularities in handling of foreign funds by both PPP and PML-N. However, these two parties, arch-rivals of the ruling party, deny having committed any wrongdoing out right. In return, these parties also accuse the PTI of having misused funds meant for philanthropy for other purposes and of other irregularities. A former central information secretary of PTI, Akbar S Babar had filed a petition in the Election Commission way back in November 2014, alleging financial irregularities in PTI’s foreign funding, which the ruling party vehemently denies.

The PTI MNA Farrukh Habib said during scrutiny of the PPP’s accounts, he was quite hopeful that massive irregularities would come to the light as a result of the investigation. Farrukh Habib, who is also parliamentary secretary, while commenting on the notice issued to PPP pertaining to the scrutiny of the sources of foreign funding, alleged the PPP’s political history was marred with the tales of massive corruption. He alleged the PPP corrupted the country through their politics and now they are defending their corruption using the same platform. “Zardari and his sister are behind the bars for their financial crimes,” he claimed, and added the PPP’s financial records should be thoroughly investigated to expose their true faces.

Side by side with the scrutiny of the PPP and PML-N, the Election Commission of Pakistan will resume hearing in the long-continuing PTI’s funding case from June 20 after a break of several weeks. In this connection, notices were served on the petitioner and Akbar S Babar and the PTI officials to attend the ECP scrutiny committee meeting fixed for June 20.