Pakistan’s ruling PTI party resists scrutiny of foreign accounts

[uberkoen]

Prime Minister Imran Khan, as chairman of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, on Saturday challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan a decision by the Islamabad High Court.

The High Court ruling allowed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hear and decide a petition regarding scrutiny of the foreign accounts of the PTI.

The High Court had in February 2017 reverted the case to the ECP to decide the matter and also declared the petitioner Akbar S. Babar as a member of the party.

The PTI on the other hand claims that Babar quit the party back in 2011 and had nothing to do with its matters.

The party also argues that the ECP didn’t have the jurisdiction to hear the PTI’s foreign funding scrutiny case since Babar was not an affected party, and neither was he a member of the PTI, when he filed the petition for scrutiny of party funds in the ECP in 2014.

The PTI foreign funding case initiated by Babar, a founder member of the PTI, some six years ago has been pending in the courts for a long time.

A brief history of PTI Foreign Funding Case
Akbar S. Babar filed a petition in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in 2014 requesting the commission to summon record of the foreign funding PTI received to date.

The PTI challenged jurisdiction of the ECP in the Islamabad High Court requesting the court to stop ECP from hearing the case.

In 2017, the IHC reverted the case back to the ECP and directed the commission to review its jurisdiction afresh.

In May 2017, a full bench of the ECP as per the IHC orders, held it had complete jurisdiction over the matter and stated that the PTI had failed to produce any evidence that the petitioner Akbar S Babar had been expelled from the party and lost the right to question the PTI’s accounts.

Next year in March 2018, a scrutiny committee was formed to look into the PTI’s foreign funding accounts to ascertain any wrongdoing.

The PTI, in response to the ECP’s order, sought protection from scrutiny of its foreign funding but the ECP on October 10, 2019 almost one-and-a-half years since the constitution of the committee rejected the PTI’s request for maintaining secrecy of the party’s foreign funding.

Imran Khan’s stance
Imran in his petition has raised objections to the ECP’s jurisdiction and questioned various aspects of the case. To IHC’s declaration that Babar is a part of PTI, he has maintained in the petition that Babar has not been a part of PTI since 2011.

An email in which Babar tendered his resignation is part of the case record.

https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pak...sists-scrutiny-of-foreign-accounts-1.69255917

 

[Mamoon]

So the self-proclaimed packer of honesty continues to run from the FF case and continues to hide behind stay orders.

Now he is challenging ECP’s jurisdiction.

I have only one question but his supporters are unwilling to answer: if he is as honest as he and his loyalists claim, why doesn’t he come clean? Why is he demanding secrecy in investigations?

An honest man wastes no time in disproving allegations, and he will use a public platform to reinforce the belief that he is honest.

If Imran had no skeletons in the closet, he would use this opportunity to further solidify his claim that he is incorruptible.

 

[IAJ]

So the self-proclaimed packer of honesty continues to run from the FF case and continues to hide behind stay orders.

Now he is challenging ECP’s jurisdiction.

I have only one question but his supporters are unwilling to answer: if he is as honest as he and his loyalists claim, why doesn’t he come clean? Why is he demanding secrecy in investigations?

An honest man wastes no time in disproving allegations, and he will use a public platform to reinforce the belief that he is honest.

If Imran had no skeletons in the closet, he would use this opportunity to further solidify his claim that he is incorruptible.

Lol, I am no die hard PTI fan, but you said you had only one question to his supporters, but you asked two questions. People will question your honesty as well.

 

[Mamoon]

Lol, I am no die hard PTI fan, but you said you had only one question to his supporters, but you asked two questions. People will question your honesty as well.

One question with two parts. Anyway, is that the important point here?

 

[IAJ]

One question with two parts. Anyway, is that the important point here?

I am not interested in discussing the real issues as no one is neutral here. You have only the haters and lovers. One will critisize, the other will blindly defend. In next thread same people will do the same, just that the roles will be changed.

 

[Kriketer]

Corruption here and there is bound to happen within PTI as well. You must be lacking significant brain cells to assume otherwise. Imran is genuinely working towards a better Pakistan and there will be numerous set backs. He is focusing on getting rid of corruption at a higher level. There will be cases and issues within PTI as well, they are not all made up of angels.

It's funny these nay sayers of PTI and Imran think that Pakistan was some first world country before. Your whining is irrelevant. Khaandani jageer curse of PM office is hopefully dead and never to return to Pakistan.

 

[Waseem]

It's one of the most desperate cases initiated by a so called founding member Akbar S Babar who was kicked out of party for disciplinary issues. Like a typical desi unlce, he has been trying to take his revenge.

First of all, this is not the case of "Imran Khan misusing party funds" as haters try to portray but there is certain restrictions who can fund political parties. This rule is mainly to ensure political parties aren't funded by certain lobbies outside Pakistan who may exploit. Imran Khan received some funding by non Pakistani sounding names (some Hindu, Sikh and one cheque belonged to Jewish owned law firm). Most of these people have links to Pakistan either through marriage or in Jewish law firm's case the donor was Pakistani.

Record of funding is a secondary issue and main objection is whether party funds were spent appropriately. Obviously Pakistani tax payers aren't at loss and Imran Khan didn't spend every penny with own hands so possibly there is some money unaccounted for but again it's not national issue.

PTI's objection on technical ground is they don't want all the donor's names to be made public which is their right i believe as not everyone wants their name to be disclosed.

Remember when same question was asked to PMLN and PPP, they couldn't even provide 10% of record PTI already provided.

PTI resists scrutiny is an extremely dodgy and saucy headline otherwise it's about secrecy of donors, unless people suspect some yahoodi lobbbies funding Imran Khan (as typical patwaris claim), it's a completely non issue.

 

[Bewal Express]

So the self-proclaimed packer of honesty continues to run from the FF case and continues to hide behind stay orders.

Now he is challenging ECP’s jurisdiction.

I have only one question but his supporters are unwilling to answer: if he is as honest as he and his loyalists claim, why doesn’t he come clean? Why is he demanding secrecy in investigations?

An honest man wastes no time in disproving allegations, and he will use a public platform to reinforce the belief that he is honest.

If Imran had no skeletons in the closet, he would use this opportunity to further solidify his claim that he is incorruptible.

Didn't the PPP say the same on the ECP jurisdiction? Why do you run from this question. As a regulars will know, I have asked you to explain this and the A4 sheet from Nooras but you run. Please explain