PTI concludes arguments in foreign funding case

ISLAMABAD: Finally, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawyer Anwar Mansoor Khan on Wednesday concluded his arguments in the foreign funding case and in his concluding remarks termed the billing of the case as 'foreign funding case' a misnomer. 

He contended before an ECP bench that the correct name for the case should be prohibited funding case. However, the petitioner's lawyer Syed Ahmad Hassan Shah clarified that the PPO 2002 clearly classified a party funded by foreigners or foreign companies as a "foreign aided political party" and even the ToRs of a scrutiny committee mentioned it as PTI foreign funding case.

The PTI lawyer once again criticised the scrutiny committee’s report as inadequate and at the conclusion thanked Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and other ECP members for their patient hearing and allowing him an opportunity to present his arguments.

The case was adjourned till June 20 when the petitioner's lawyer would counter the final arguments of the PTI lawyer and then the Election Commission of Pakistan is expected to reserve its judgment.

Later, talking to the media outside the ECP office, the petitioner and PTI founding member, Akbar S Babar, said that after almosteight long years of struggle, the case was finally coming to the conclusion stage. He condemned the PTI chairman's tirade against the ECP and CEC and termed it fascism, saying that "our constitutional bodies should take note of the PTI chairman's blatant attempts to pressurise the ECP and this is unacceptable”.

Babar demanded that the way forward for any PTI reform should start with an apology from Imran Khan followed by his resignation as party chairman. The reigns of the party must be handed over to PTI founders for any meaningful reforms and accountability within. He was hopeful that the ECP would apply full force of law to judge the foreign funding case. "We hope a historic opportunity to reform politics in Pakistan will not be squandered," he said.