Foreign funding case against PTI: PML-N to protest outside ECP for judgment

ISLAMABAD: PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Thursday that the party, under the umbrella of the 10-party opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), would take out rallies from different areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Jan 19 that would merge into one big rally before heading towards the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the capital, reported a private news channel.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad along with other party leaders, she said the rally was being organised to "get a decision from the ECP that it is not giving since 2014". She was referring to a foreign funding case against the PTI, which was filed in November 2014 by Akbar S Babar, a founding member of the ruling party.

"The protest that the PDM is going to do on Jan 19 to take the decision that has already been made today when the PTI has accepted that illegal funding has come through 23 foreign-funded accounts, that illegal funding could have been done through agents. The PTI accepted that money was gotten illegally through 23 foreign funded accounts that were not declared accounts and that money was deposited in PTI accounts through cheques.

"Signs of President Dr Arif Alvi, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Imran Khan Sahib himself along with other PTI leaders are present on those cheques," she claimed. Marriyum Aurangzeb has lashed out against Shahzad Akbar, saying he should be tried in court for defamation of Pakistan.

Talking to media Marriyum said Shahzad Akbar got infuriated by her press conference because his lies and corruption were exposed. She said the head of Broadsheet clearly said that the government team specifically asked about their own cut, not the percentage of money to be submitted to national treasury. Even after such a clearly incriminating statement Akbar had the audacity to tell about suing her. She dared Akbar to double the defamation suit amount by adding her second presser to accusations as well.

She said the dictator Pervez Musharraf paid the nation's Rs600 crores for a witch-hunt, which led to zero recovery and all that money was flushed down the drain. Following that Pakistan had to pay an additional $25 million in fines, which was another Rs400 crores. Now, on top of all that this government is set to sign yet another contract with this company and has prepared a draft already.

Marriyum said "Shahzad Akbar and Imran Khan were very fond of waving fake documents at press conference against Shahbaz Sharif in Saaf Paani Case, Ashiyaana Case, Multan Metro, DFID and others and yet could not present a single plausible proof or witness to those false claims driven by political victimisation and prejudice.

She said the Broadsheet chief clearly mentioned that he met Shahzad Akbar, Imran Khan and an official from Pakistan's intelligence agency in addition to a delegation. She said this is an extremely sensitive matter.

Marriyum demanded that the draft prepared by Shahzad Akbar must be made public. The identities of those who met the chief Kaveh Moussavi of Broadsheet must be made public. The details of those meetings be made public. The legal grounds of these meetings be made public.

Meanwhile, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman should refrain from making statements that are provocative and tend to spread hatred.

He said this while addressing a press conference here along with Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak, Minister for Information Shibli Faraz, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry and Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem.

He said the government would not create any hurdle in protest of opposition parties scheduled outside Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on January 19. He said that the opposition parties’ alliance is coming to Islamabad on January 19 to stage protest in front of ECP despite the fact the former chief election commissioner had not been appointed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government. “I hope the opposition parties will show good gesture after this decision and not to create law and order situation in the federal capital” he added.

Shibli Faraz said that if the foreign funding is illegal then the agents will be responsible in this regard. Shibli Faraz asked Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) to submit evidence regarding alleged election fraud in the ECP, besides holding protest rallies. He also asked the PML-N and PPP leaders to bring the details and documents of the party accounts as the scrutiny committee of the ECP had asked them to provide the details several times in the foreign funding case.

Meanwhile, Fawad Chaudhry slammed the opposition and said that the PDM had criticised every state institution as it had problems with every institution.

About anti-Israel rally being planned by JUI-F, the minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would never recognise Israel. “We are the firm believers of the finality of Prophethood (PBUH) and would never recognise Israel,” he said, adding that Imran Khan is the leader who cannot even think to recognise Israel.

Sheikh Rashid said that Maulana Fazl should serve for cause of Islam rather than seeing towards Islamabad. To a question, the minister said that PTI had submitted all evidences into foreign funding case, including verified documents of 40,000 people.

Responding to another question, he said that Pakistan's politics had not entered a closed-alley and that it had come out on the field. He said that Imran Khan would complete his five-year term as Prime Minister and the nerves of all on his side are also strong.

He said only 92 out of more than 500 religious seminaries were registered in the federal capital and the government had no objection to register more.

He said a committee constituted by the Prime Minister Imran Khan including ministers for Interior and Religious Affairs was in contact with religious scholars for the registration of seminaries. He said religion must not be used for political gains. “We have respect for Madrasa and considered them as fort of Pakistan” he added.

Federal Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak criticised the PDM leadership and said this 11-party alliance of the opposition parties raised their objections on the general elections' results of 2018 in which they participated. He said they were reluctant to let the business of the National Assembly of the Parliament go functional and did not cooperate in the parliamentary committee, set to probe the opposition's claims of rigging in the general elections of 2018.

Farogh Naseem, citing the Supreme Court's remarks in the Faizabad sit-in case, said that it was made clear that not every place is feasible for protests. "The state will protect your rights within the law," he said.