ECP accused of keeping PTI bank accounts hidden

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan’s Scrutiny Committee was on Wednesday accused of keeping the original PTI bank account statements hidden from perusal, as the perusal of PTI accounts which was to conclude on Wednesday was extended by three hours for Thursday. This was done to complete 40 hours of perusal allowed by the ECP in its order of April 14.

The petitioner, Akbar S Babar, filed another application for perusal of original PTI bank statements which he alleged are being kept secret by the Scrutiny Committee from the perusal process, sources said. The petitioner has requested three more days for perusal of original documents. He claimed that a single original PTI bank statement has been allowed for perusal including the 23 PTI bank statements requisitioned by the State Bank of Pakistan.

It was learnt that in October 2018, one member of the original Scrutiny Committee had demanded answers from the PTI on millions of dollars received in those accounts. Instead of providing answers, ironically the auditor was removed from the committee.

In the fresh application, the petitioner has demanded three more days from May 24 to 26 for perusal of original PTI bank statements. The perusal process ends on Thursday, however, the ECP has yet to decide on the application by the petitioner seeking perusal of original PTI bank statements.

Later, talking to the media after the conclusion of the day's proceedings, Babar said facts could not be hidden for long, insisting that it was the ECP Scrutiny Committee’s mandate to reveal facts. “Instead it chose to hide facts. If the petitioner can peruse PTI documents in 40 hours, why did it take over three years for the Scrutiny Committee,” he contended and said political parties are nurseries of leadership.

Had the ECP and its committee played its constitutional role in establishing facts and deciding on merit, Pakistan would have been spared from a leadership in power that was neither competent nor capable of running the state.