Prohibited funding: ECP gives PTI one month to respond

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: As the scrutiny committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) auditing foreign funding of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf met for a second consecutive day on Thursday, the PTI said it was the only party that was managing its funds with complete transparency.

“PTI is the first party to have made a departure from the established practice of PML-N, PPP and JUI-F of receiving heavy donations from vested interest groups, land grabbers and other rogue elements and returning the favour to them at the cost people of Pakistan after the polls,” Information Minister Shibli Faraz told Dawn.

He said the PTI set a new tradition of fundraising by its party members both within the country and Pakistani expatriates, owing no obligation to anybody for “investing in election campaigns”.

“All this was transparent and all the details of the funds received by the party have been submitted to the ECP,” he added.

Opposition questions meeting of PM’s close associate with CEC amidst hearing of foreign funding case against ruling party

Mr Faraz said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party had failed to submit details of their suspicious donations and it was time for them to submit all the documents asked for by the ECP without any delay. “These parties must stop a hue and cry over the PTI’s funding and come clean on donations received by them.”

The ECP’s scrutiny committee at its second meeting in as many days again examined the PTI record of two LLCs (limited liability companies) registered in the United States.

According to sources, the petitioner’s lawyer Syed Ahmad Hassan Shah, assisted by Badar Iqbal Chaudhry, objected to the PTI record and demanded that official record of the two companies registered on the instructions of PTI chairman Imran Khan be scrutinised. He said they were being asked to scrutinise fake documents and were participating in the process in protest.

Hassan Shah told the committee that it should follow the ECP order of Aug 27, 2020 to authenticate each and every evidence before it. He said the committee should not expect “us to rubber-stamp fake and forged PTI documents”.

The committee was asked to either accept or reject official evidence to bring some credibility into the scrutiny.

The committee is expected to meet again on Jan 20 to deliberate on the authenticity issue and communicate its order before proceeding further.

In a related development, PTI’s chief organiser Saifullah Niazi on Thursday called on Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja when on another floor the ECP’s scrutiny committee was hearing the foreign funding case against the party.

The timing of the meeting raised many eyebrows as it took place a day after the PTI claimed that if any funds were collected illegally through the two US companies registered on Imran Khan’s written instructions, the responsibility lies with their agents managing the two LLCs.

“This is called special handling: Chief Organiser PTI Saifullah Niazi called on Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Thursday, while on another floor of the building the scrutiny committee was hearing THE foreign funding case against the party,” PPP’s parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman tweeted.

CEC Sikandar Raja, when contacted by Dawn, confirmed the meeting, but said that “ECP is accessible and available to all the parliamentarians and political parties and they do visit the commission”. He said Mr Niazi came to the commission with a complaint that many votes were registered at third address other than temporary or permanent address and he was told that the commission would look into the matter.

“Commission also received complaints of violation of code of conduct in by-elections from other parties as well and commission addresses it. Commission is totally neutral and is determined to be so always,” he asserted.

The apparent change in PTI’s stance which had in the past been denying any foreign funding evoked a strong reaction from the opposition parties, with many of them raising questions using social media platforms.

PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz took to Twitter, saying that “bogus certificate holder of being truthful and honest has confessed his crime and now says that the agents appointed by him were responsible for any wrongdoing”.

“(The army knows) that the decision on the shameful saga of malpractice pending for seven years has been taken and is only to be penned down. Coming for accountability on January 19 Insha Allah,” she tweeted.

“PTI accepted illegal funding collected through 2 US companies registered after Imran Khan’s written instructions. Illegal funding Rules for Corrupt practices shall apply here,” PPP Senator Sehar Kamran tweeted.

The opposition also raises questions over the meeting of a close associate of the prime minister with the CEC at a time when a case against the party is pending with the commission.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) scrutiny committee has been asked to check the official record of two US companies registered on PTI chairperson Imran Khan's instructions in the foreign funding case.

This request was made by petitioner Akbar S Babar’s lawyers Syed Ahmad Hassan Shah and Badar Iqbal Chaudhry in a second meeting of the committee at the Election Commission Secretariat, The News reported Friday.

A day earlier, the PTI said in its latest written response to the ECP's scrutiny committee that if any funds were collected illegally, the responsibility lies with agents.

Read more: Foreign funding case: Agents responsible if funds collected illegally, PTI tells ECP

PTI had earlier denied any illegal funding from the US. Now it claims that if any funds were collected illegally through two US registered companies registered on Imran Khan's written instructions, the responsibility lies with their agents managing the two PTI LLCs 5975 and 6160.

The ECP had recently expressed concern over the delay in scrutiny of the funding-related documents and directed the committee to expedite its work and hold meetings thrice in a week and finish the task as early as possible, which was underway since March 2018, The News reported Thursday.

Sources said that the petitioner's lawyer Syed Ahmad Hassan Shah, assisted by Badar Iqbal Chaudhry, protested at the continued refusal of the committee to share the PTI financial documents with the petitioner.

Shah contended by refusing to share the documents, the committee was in violation of ECP Order, issued on May 30, 2018 that rejected the PTI plea of keeping these documents and the scrutiny process secret.

PTI foreign funding case: ECP's scrutiny body restarts probe

The lawyer emphasised that they were participating in the committee proceedings under protest as denying access to PTI bank statements and other documents was a violation of law and due process.

The scrutiny committee was asked to follow the ECP order, issued on August 27 last year to authenticate every evidence before it. The petitioner’s lawyers emphasised that the committee should not expect them to rubber stamp fake and forged documents, submitted by PTI.

Case background

Akbar S Babar, a founding member of the PTI, had filed a case against the Imran Khan-led party in November 2014 claiming in his petition that there were massive financial irregularities in handling of foreign funding to the tune of nearly $3 million.

PTI foreign funding case: ECP directs scrutiny committee to submit report by August 17

Following the petition, the PTI challenged the ECP orders in the IHC in 2017.

In the same year, the IHC sent back the case to the electoral body to review its jurisdiction once again. In the case, the high court had also declared Babar as member of the ruling PTI.

Later on May 8, 2017, an ECP bench stated that the body had complete jurisdiction over the case.

In March 2018, a scrutiny committee was formed to look into PTI's foreign funding accounts to determine if there was any wrongdoing.

The PTI at multiple times has sought secrecy in the scrutiny and had also approached the ECP, in this regard. However, in October, 2019, the ECP turned down the party's request.

The PTI chief at multiple times has accused the ECP for working for the interests of the opposition in the case.

 

[Mamoon]

So from no illegal funding to illegal funding by agents. It is not that simple, Imran.

It was not me, it was my hand that took the bribe. Pathetic.

 

[Mamoon]

Always blaming someone else for anything that goes wrong. Great captaincy.

Also, when did Imran find out that agents were doing the illegal funding stuff? Why wasn’t this his official stance from the beginning?

How come he didn’t look into what the agents were doing when they were collecting funds on his behalf? The wheels are coming off for Imran and his government. Sadiq & Ameen they call him...

“And oftentimes excusing of a fault doth make the fault the worse by the excuse.” - William Shakespeare
(King John, Act 4, Scene 2)

 

[observer1]

Always blaming someone else for anything that goes wrong. Great captaincy.

Also, when did Imran find out that agents were doing the illegal funding stuff? Why wasn’t this his official stance from the beginning?

How come he didn’t look into what the agents were doing when they were collecting funds on his behalf? The wheels are coming off for Imran and his government. Sadiq & Ameen they call him...

“And oftentimes excusing of a fault doth make the fault the worse by the excuse.” - William Shakespeare
(King John, Act 4, Scene 2)

Perhaps IK should take a page out of Nawaz Sharif's book Amanda learn how to funnel money to Panama for his personal gains.

This whole thing is a storm in a teacup and just highlights the fact there are countless sources and people eager for Imran Khan to take the helm and keep the Sharif and Bhutto dynasty out.

 

[Bigboii]

Imagine if this was an opposition party

They would have linked these fundings to Mossad, RAW, CIA and Ethiopian secret services by now...

 

[Mamoon]

Perhaps IK should take a page out of Nawaz Sharif's book Amanda learn how to funnel money to Panama for his personal gains.

This whole thing is a storm in a teacup and just highlights the fact there are countless sources and people eager for Imran Khan to take the helm and keep the Sharif and Bhutto dynasty out.

No one wants to hear the wailing on Sharif and Zardari anymore. We have heard enough over the years.

The reality is that Imran has skeletons in his closet. He has been running away from the FF case for years now but the wheels are slowly but surely coming off.

From “there is no illegal foreign funding” to “our agents proved to be corrupt” )

 

[MenInG]

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said there was no doubt Prime Minister Imran Khan was "a criminal", adding that he was now shifting blame on the agents managing two US companies registered on the latter's orders in the PTI foreign funding case.

"Why is the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) not taking action when the evidence is clear-cut?" he questioned, claiming that the nation "is protesting against the ECP's negligence in fulfilling its Constitutional duties".

He said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will protest in front of the ECP office in the capital on Jan 19, urging people to join the opposition's march and to save the country from "injustice".

Nawaz's statement comes days after the PTI submitted a written reply to a questionnaire given by the ECP scrutiny committee in which it claimed that if any funds were collected illegally through the two US companies registered on Imran Khan’s written instructions, the responsibility lies with their agents managing the two LLCs.

The party said “any contribution that has been collected by the agent which may be questionable would be beyond the scope of the work/responsibility/instructions given by the principal (respondent)”.

“The principal has given clear instructions and if the agent goes beyond those instructions without disclosing it to the principal, without seeking ratification of those acts and without even sending that money to the principal, then it is submitted that the principal will not be liable under section 228 and not admit/certify such contents. “The fact that the principal neither had knowledge nor has received the proceeds exhibits the bona fide of the principal,” the document carrying PTI’s reply went on to argue.

The foreign funding case against PTI was filed in Nov 2014 by Akbar S Babar, a founding member of the party. He had alleged serious financial irregularities in PTI’s accounts.

The allegations made by Babar included illegal sources of funding, concealment of bank acco*unts in the country and abroad, money laundering, and using private bank acc*ounts of PTI employees as a front to receive illegal donations from the Middle East.

In a video message posted on his Twitter account on Saturday, Nawaz said that the "clear and straightforward" case had been pending with the ECP for the past six years. A decision had not been taken because it concerned Imran Khan and the PTI instead of Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N, he said.

Recounting the events leading up to his ouster in 2017, the PML-N supremo highlighted the alleged differences in the way he was treated and how the foreign funding case was being treated.

"You must remember the haste in which matters proceeded to oust me, an elected premier. The judge of the Supreme Court constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) via Whatsapp which included representatives from the military intelligence and the Inter-Services Intelligence.

"And then the way in which the JIT was told to submit a report in 60 days. Then the haste with which the verdict was issued in the Panama case, and [on the basis of an Iqama] a prime minister was dismissed. You remember this, right?"

He added that the accountability court was also directed to issue a decision in six months while the tenure of judge Mohammad Bashir, who convicted the Sharif family in Avenfield properties references, was also extended, Nawaz said.

"But this is one side of the picture. Let's look at the other side."

Drawing a comparison with the PTI's foreign funding case, Nawaz said that a case was filed in 2014 by a founding member of the party, adding that there had been 70 hearings so far.

"Imran Khan, the man wearing the medal and shouting the slogan of sadiq and ameen, who did not tire when saying that accountability should begin with him [...] has now become the biggest obstacle for justice."

Nawaz alleged that the prime minister was using delaying tactics and ignoring the directions of the ECP.

"In March 2018, the ECP had formed a scrutiny committee and directed that a report be submitted in one month. Approximately two-and-a-half years later, there is still no report," Nawaz said.

"Finally in his seventh year, Imran Khan has accepted that things have gone awry when it comes to foreign funding. But he has put the responsibility of this on his agents and said that they must have done this," the PML-N supremo said, alluding to the PTI's response to the ECP.

"There are two companies registered in the US under Imran Khan's directives and were running under his eye," he claimed.

Nawaz added that the State Bank of Pakistan had given the ECP information about 23 accounts, 15 of which the premier hid and did not include in the report given to the commission.

"He did not disclose the total amount, the source, and did not give a money trail or receipts," Nawaz said, adding that the nation wanted to know how the money was accumulated and where it went.

"If there is no corruption, then why was it hidden? Do these suspect accounts not come under the crime of money laundering? Where is the money trail? And why is the information not being given to the ECP and to the people?" he asked.

PTI insists funds being managed transparently
On Thursday, the PTI said it was the only party that was managing its funds with complete transparency.

“PTI is the first party to have made a departure from the established practice of PML-N, PPP and JUI-F of receiving heavy donations from vested interest groups, land grabbers and other rogue elements and returning the favour to them at the cost people of Pakistan after the polls,” Information Minister Shibli Faraz told Dawn.

He said the PTI set a new tradition of fundraising by its party members both within the country and Pakistani expatriates, owing no obligation to anybody for “investing in election campaigns”.

“All this was transparent and all the details of the funds received by the party have been submitted to the ECP,” he added.

Faraz said the PML-N and the PPP had failed to submit details of their suspicious donations and it was time for them to submit all the documents asked for by the ECP without any delay. “These parties must stop a hue and cry over the PTI’s funding and come clean on donations received by them.”

https://www.dawn.com/news/1601868/n...uestions-delay-in-pti-foreign-funding-verdict

 

[Savak]

Lol the opposition desperately raising such hue and cry over $3 million whereas the opposition have to answer for $90 billion for their rule. Awaiting Mamoons predictable response "$3 million or $90 billion, corruption is corruption, IK has lost the moral authority to be pm, the country is better off with the corrupt but competent instead"

 

[Mamoon]

Lol the opposition desperately raising such hue and cry over $3 million whereas the opposition have to answer for $90 billion for their rule. Awaiting Mamoons predictable response "$3 million or $90 billion, corruption is corruption, IK has lost the moral authority to be pm, the country is better off with the corrupt but competent instead"

This is getting embarrassing now.

Was Imran supposed to be “corruption free” or “less corrupt”?

I can understand the desperation and the humiliation of Imran and PTI fans. It only took a few years for them to go from “Imran is incorruptible” to “he is less corrupt than others and did not do it for personal gains”.

Wow.

 

[Square Drive]

This is getting embarrassing now.

Was Imran supposed to be “corruption free” or “less corrupt”?

I can understand the desperation and the humiliation of Imran and PTI fans. It only took a few years for them to go from “Imran is incorruptible” to “he is less corrupt than others and did not do it for personal gains”.

Wow.

One can acknowledge that Imran has underperformed relative to what was expected of him, while also maintaining that he is still better than his alternatives (lesser of the evils if you will) and therefore should be persisted with.

Essentially what I'm saying is, a corruption-free Imran would be ideal, but a less corrupt Imran is still good enough for our standards when considering our alternatives. Kind of like how you list your ideal Pakistan XIs and say that this lot is still mediocre but is the best we've got.

 

[Mamoon]

One can acknowledge that Imran has underperformed relative to what was expected of him, while also maintaining that he is still better than his alternatives (lesser of the evils if you will) and therefore should be persisted with.

Essentially what I'm saying is, a corruption-free Imran would be ideal, but a less corrupt Imran is still good enough for our standards when considering our alternatives. Kind of like how you list your ideal Pakistan XIs and say that this lot is still mediocre but is the best we've got.

This is just a convenient cop-out by Imran supporters. First they put him on a pedestal, promoted him as a savior of Pakistan and someone who was not a typical politician and also 100% honest, and now they are justifying themselves by suggesting that well, he is not as bad as the others and that is good enough.

Unfortunately, had PTI supporters not gone overboard and would have considered him just a relatively better option rather than the messiah that they thought he was, this excuse would now hold up.

This revelations do nothing for his critics and opposition. They only damage his loyal supporters and disappoint the millions of people who put their faith in him.

With every step, he is losing a chunk of his supporters. Of course, there are a lot people who will follow him to Hell if he takes them there, but there are also plenty of PTI supporters who are not brainwashed and can think for themselves.

A chunk of them gave up on him once he decided to give party tickets to tried and tested, failed and corrupt politicians from other parties in order to capitalize on their vote banks, and the way he used Mafia heads and black money hoarders like Jahangir Tareen to finance his election campaign.

It was completely contrary to the morals he established when he joined politics and how he attracted people under the banner of tabdeeli.

 

[Greenstorm]

Imagine if this was an opposition party

They would have linked these fundings to Mossad, RAW, CIA and Ethiopian secret services by now...

There are cases against the opposition parties as well regarding foreign funding. ECP is looking into it.

 

[Bigboii]

There are cases against the opposition parties as well regarding foreign funding. ECP is looking into it.

Looking around for a thread about that but cant find it for some reason (not saying it didn't happen just that I wanted to look at some of the posts...)

But it was more of something I noticed that opposition parties become foreign agents on the slightest of reasons
But when the same happens with PTI they remain the ever patriotic "good guys" and not this evil cartoonish character they make the opposition out to be

Just an observation...

 

[Square Drive]

This is just a convenient cop-out by Imran supporters. First they put him on a pedestal, promoted him as a savior of Pakistan and someone who was not a typical politician and also 100% honest, and now they are justifying themselves by suggesting that well, he is not as bad as the others and that is good enough.

Unfortunately, had PTI supporters not gone overboard and would have considered him just a relatively better option rather than the messiah that they thought he was, this excuse would now hold up.

This revelations do nothing for his critics and opposition. They only damage his loyal supporters and disappoint the millions of people who put their faith in him.

With every step, he is losing a chunk of his supporters. Of course, there are a lot people who will follow him to Hell if he takes them there, but there are also plenty of PTI supporters who are not brainwashed and can think for themselves.

A chunk of them gave up on him once he decided to give party tickets to tried and tested, failed and corrupt politicians from other parties in order to capitalize on their vote banks, and the way he used Mafia heads and black money hoarders like Jahangir Tareen to finance his election campaign.

It was completely contrary to the morals he established when he joined politics and how he attracted people under the banner of tabdeeli.

Although most did put him on a pedestal and did perceive him to be our saviour (and still do), there are still a decent amount of supporters who always backed him for being the best among our options, or the least worse. What do you have to say to those supporters? Are they not correct in their assessment?

 

[Greenstorm]

Looking around for a thread about that but cant find it for some reason (not saying it didn't happen just that I wanted to look at some of the posts...)


But it was more of something I noticed that opposition parties become foreign agents on the slightest of reasons
But when the same happens with PTI they remain the ever patriotic "good guys" and not this evil cartoonish character they make the opposition out to be

Just an observation...

There maybe no thread but here is a link,
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2279989/ecp-summons-pml-n-ppp-in-foreign-funding-case

PTI doesn't get the same flak as other parties because of IK. His clean character (even most PML N supporters don't object to that) makes it impossible to believe that he can be bought. Same can't be said for Nawaz, Billo and Fazlu types.

 

[Bewal Express]

Looking around for a thread about that but cant find it for some reason (not saying it didn't happen just that I wanted to look at some of the posts...)

But it was more of something I noticed that opposition parties become foreign agents on the slightest of reasons
But when the same happens with PTI they remain the ever patriotic "good guys" and not this evil cartoonish character they make the opposition out to be

Just an observation...

This is getting interesting, crores have appeared in Noora accounts without a source. I wonder where they come from?

 

[Mamoon]

Although most did put him on a pedestal and did perceive him to be our saviour (and still do), there are still a decent amount of supporters who always backed him for being the best among our options, or the least worse. What do you have to say to those supporters? Are they not correct in their assessment?

The issue is that the people working under Imran in this government are the same people that were working under the previous governments. There is no difference between the two.

 

[Square Drive]

The issue is that the people working under Imran in this government are the same people that were working under the previous governments. There is no difference between the two.

Keeping that in mind, who would you vote for next time around and why?

 

[Bewal Express]

This is getting embarrassing now.

Was Imran supposed to be “corruption free” or “less corrupt”?

I can understand the desperation and the humiliation of Imran and PTI fans. It only took a few years for them to go from “Imran is incorruptible” to “he is less corrupt than others and did not do it for personal gains”.

Wow.

There was no corruption,it was overseas PK donating to the PT. But tell us what's happening with the Nooras accounts, no records at all, where did the money come from?
.

 

[Bewal Express]

The issue is that the people working under Imran in this government are the same people that were working under the previous governments. There is no difference between the two.

Tell us why Nooras are not providing source of crores? I think the pathic demo planned is to intimidate the ECL into not looking into where the source of the funds is.

 

[Bewal Express]

There are cases against the opposition parties as well regarding foreign funding. ECP is looking into it.

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION], watch from 7min

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Keeping that in mind, who would you vote for next time around and why?

You’d think [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] is a hardcore Nawaz Sharif supporter but he’s actually voted for PTI in the last 2 elections

It’s like me being against the far-right parties then going on to vote for Hafeez Saeed*

 

[Bewal Express]

You’d think [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] is a hardcore Nawaz Sharif supporter but he’s actually voted for PTI in the last 2 elections��

It’s like me being against the far-right parties then going on to vote for Hafeez Saeed����*

That's what he says, after the number of times his lies have been exposed on here, do you believe him

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is all set to stage a protest outside of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on January 19. To that end, the Islamabad police have devised a security plan to ward off any untoward incidents.

According to police, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations will be supervising the security arrangements and more than 1,800 personnel will be deployed in the city for the purpose.

Per the plan, all those participating in the demonstration will have to park their cars in the general parking area of the Convention Centre, police said.

On Friday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed had said the government would not stop the PDM protest outside the election commission if "they abide by the law and Constitution."

He said the Opposition could "practise its constitutional right" and the government would "not create any hurdle for its protest," but emphasised that the "law would take its course if the Opposition tries to create unrest in the capital."

Why is PDM protesting?
PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on January 6 announced the movement will hold a demonstration in front of the ECP to protest the alleged delay in the decision on the foreign funding case against the ruling PTI.

The ECP scrutiny committee has been asked to check the official record of two US companies registered on PTI chairperson Imran Khan's instructions in the foreign funding case.

Case background
Akbar S Babar, a founding member of the PTI, had filed a case against the Imran Khan-led party in November 2014 claiming in his petition that there were massive financial irregularities in the handling of foreign funding to the tune of nearly $3 million.

Following the petition, the PTI challenged the ECP orders in the IHC in 2017.

In the same year, the IHC sent back the case to the electoral body to review its jurisdiction once again. In the case, the high court had also declared Babar as a member of the ruling PTI.

Later, on May 8, 2017, an ECP bench stated that the body had complete jurisdiction over the case.

In March 2018, a scrutiny committee was formed to look into PTI's foreign funding accounts to determine if there was any wrongdoing.

The PTI at multiple times has sought secrecy in the scrutiny and had also approached the ECP, in this regard. However, in October 2019, the ECP turned down the party's request.

The PTI chief at multiple times has accused the ECP of working for the interests of the Opposition in the case.

Read: Bilawal Bhutto may skip PDM protest outside ECP on Jan 19: report

'Opposition must provide funding details to ECP instead of 'hiding behind rallies:' Shibli Faraz
In response to PDM's allegations against the PTI in the foreign funding case and their demand for the case to be made public, Minister for Information Shibli Faraz on Sunday said that the PTI has turned in all the information sought by the Election Commission of Pakistan pertaining to the party's funding and now it is the Opposition parties' turn.

Speaking about the PDM's January-19 protest outside the ECP building, Shibli said it is a "sorry attempt by them to attempt to repeat a pack of lies so much that it starts to seem like the truth".

"The drama they have staged, [it must be realised], this is not about PTI, it is about all of us. And we have provided an authenticated, notarised record of all the information from our end.

"Now it is their duty to come tomorrow, instead of the day after and tell the people whether it is really us who are thieves who have provided all proof," the minister said.

He said that after the Opposition parties' performance over the last two-three months, the Pakistan Democratic Movement is "a thing of the past".

"They must submit their record to the scrutiny committee instead of hiding behind rallies," said Faraz.

 

[Bewal Express]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]. You have been gibbering on about this for years and as per form you disappear. Well here is some more evidence to show your stupidity on following Noora Twitter accounts. Watch from 3 minutes on.

 

[The Viper]

PDM to protest outside ECP against delay in PTI foreign funding case

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazl ur Rehman announced the opposition alliance's protest against the delay in foreign funding case pending against the PTI before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Addressing the media after a meeting in the federal capital alongside PML-N vice-president Maryam Nawaz, the JUI-F chief said the case cannot be delayed any further and urged the Commission to announce a verdict soon.

“Decisions against elected prime ministers are given in a few months’ time but verdict against a selected premier has been pending for over six years,” he said.

“Foreign funding case is the biggest scandal in Pakistan. Imran Khan has amassed millions in the name of party funds. He took the mother of all NROs to create political instability in the country."

The JUI-F chief claimed PM Imran Khan used charity funds for personal business and to spread chaos. He said that the alliance discussed Tuesday's scheduled protest outside the ECP office.

It may be added here that the protest will not be attended by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari who is currently in Sukkur and plans to celebrate PPP's win in Umerkot by-polls.

Fazl also announced anti-government demonstrations scheduled for the near future. “The PDM will participate in the anti-Israel march in Karachi on January 21. On February 5, we will hold a gathering at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi to express solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers,” he said, criticising the incumbent government over its Kashmir policy.

Fazl said the PDM will deliberate over a plan of action if Prime Minister Imran Khan does not step down before January 31. “The long march will be led from across the country.”

‘Government its own enemy”
Talking to media after the Maulana, Maryam said the Opposition was against “interference of undemocratic forces” in the country’s politics. “Mian Nawaz Sharif has been saying from day 1 that Imran Khan is just a pawn in this game. The interference of institutions in the democratic process needs to end.”

Maryam stressed that there were no “backdoor” negotiations going on. “The [incumbent] government is its own enemy,” she added.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/330553-pdm-to-protest-delay-in-pti-foreign-funding-case

 

[Giannis]

Imagine if this was an opposition party

They would have linked these fundings to Mossad, RAW, CIA and Ethiopian secret services by now...

You do realize that opposition has accused Imran Khan of being a "jewish agent"

 

[Waseem]

Imagine if this was an opposition party

They would have linked these fundings to Mossad, RAW, CIA and Ethiopian secret services by now...

You don't need to imagine, opposition parties are already struggling to provide even 10% of proof provided by PTI; they've provided record of 40,000 donors and I will tell you who yahoodi and Indians agents are.

All this so called foreign funding was overseas Pakistanis and I have personally attended few events and know how it all works. Let's look at shocking details of foreign funding:

Yahoodi funding: A US based overseas Pakistani paid $750 donation using his company check. Since owner of the company was a Jew so this becomes YAHOODI funding.

Indian funding: A Pakistani woman married to Indian man paid around $500, since her husband had Indian name so this becomes Indian funding.

Can you believe how pathetic this opposition is? Bunch of clowns who stole Billions of tax payers money are concerned about few hundred Dollars donated by Overseas Pakistanis?

Congratulations to people who managed to buy Imran Khan's loyalty by spending $1000; now they are controlling Pakistan's policies

 

[Waseem]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]. You have been gibbering on about this for years and as per form you disappear. Well here is some more evidence to show your stupidity on following Noora Twitter accounts. Watch from 3 minutes on.

This is what i was talking about, didn't know they even found the "Yahoodi lobby waala" donor

Now imagine the entire opposition is protesting for this sort of joke in front of election commission as if Millions of Dollars have been stolen from Pakistan and jokers in the media have made this to be one of biggest issues facing Pakistan. PTI was reluctant to provide details of their donors due to privacy issues but were forced to provide info which is fair enough but now when ECP demands PPP, PMLN and JUI to provide details, you will hear "DEMOCRACY IN DANGER" argument.

Apparently mullah jamhoori Fazlu received funding from Libya and almost everyone knows his funding from Saudis. Nawaz Sharif transferred some amount from party fund to his personal accounts and these jokers are protesting against most organised party in terms of party funding. They may have have issues on spending but amazing how this is being used as ultimate case of corruption in Pakistan

 

[Bewal Express]

You don't need to imagine, opposition parties are already struggling to provide even 10% of proof provided by PTI; they've provided record of 40,000 donors and I will tell you who yahoodi and Indians agents are.

All this so called foreign funding was overseas Pakistanis and I have personally attended few events and know how it all works. Let's look at shocking details of foreign funding:

Yahoodi funding: A US based overseas Pakistani paid $750 donation using his company check. Since owner of the company was a Jew so this becomes YAHOODI funding.

Indian funding: A Pakistani woman married to Indian man paid around $500, since her husband had Indian name so this becomes Indian funding.

Can you believe how pathetic this opposition is? Bunch of clowns who stole Billions of tax payers money are concerned about few hundred Dollars donated by Overseas Pakistanis?

Congratulations to people who managed to buy Imran Khan's loyalty by spending $1000; now they are controlling Pakistan's policies

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]
Where are you. This was your only narrative for years because as always you read it on Noora Twitter accounts. You really are very simple

 

[MenInG]

Separate rallies led by different constituent members of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – a 10-party opposition alliance seeking to oust the government – reached Islamabad on Tuesday where a protest was held outside the headquarters of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against what the PDM has called an "unacceptable delay" in the PTI foreign funding case.

Addressing the rally, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said the PDM parties had gathered outside the ECP to remind it of its constitutional obligations.

Commenting on the size of the crowd, she asked whether there had been a "misunderstanding" that the PDM's planned long march was being held today. "From the huge size of the crowd, I feel like you had that misconception. If this is a protest rally, look and think what the condition will be when the public reaches here for the long march," she told the rally.

She said the protest was being held on the Constitutional Avenue but "unfortunately there is no justice or Constitution in the country we live in".

"Today we have gathered in front of the ECP office to remind it of its constitutional responsibilities, to tell the chief election commissioner that your institution is a constitutional institution and an institution of the people. This is the institution that the Constitution has made responsible for respecting the people's votes and this is the institution that had to get respect for the people's votes," she added.

Terming the PTI foreign funding case the "biggest fraud in Pakistan's history", she said although the cases against her father, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, were expedited and decided within days, the ECP had "only held 70 hearings" of the PTI case since 2014.

"Today the PDM and public ask you, if you did not steal, then why did you try to stop the case 30 times?" Maryam said, addressing Prime Minister Imran Khan. She added that the premier had submitted six requests in the court saying the ECP could not decide this case.

"ECP formed a committee called the scrutiny committee whose job was to investigate and place results in front of the people but when the probe was started, the list of crimes was so long that it was told to be lenient on [the PTI] and the committee then became obedient of Imran Khan and ECP," she said.

The PML-N leader said the case against the PTI could be decided within three days "but they have been sitting like a snake on top of it for seven years".

"If you were so innocent why did you give applications to keep the proceedings secret?" she said, referring to the PTI. "This means theft took place and very big theft was done."

Maryam said the State Bank of Pakistan had identified "23 secret accounts" of the PTI which she claimed were being operated through Prime Minister Imran's signatures.

"The scrutiny committee itself admits that it cannot give us the facts because Imran Khan has stopped [it from doing so]. Now you know the person who cried chor! chor! (thief!) turned out to be the biggest thief," she added, alleging that funds had come into Imran's accounts through Hundi.

Maryam alleged that Prime Minister Imran had received funds from people in Israel and India, saying: "Do you know who funded him from India? Bharatiya Janata Party member Inder Dosanjh. And the Israeli who funded him was Barry C. Schneps."

She suggested that "countless" such people and companies from India and Israel had funded the PTI.

This is not the first time that the names of Schneps and Dosanjh have come up in connection with the PTI foreign funding case. In fact, the allegation was originally levelled by the original petitioner in the case, Akbar S. Babar, back in 2015.

Babar, who is a founding member of the PTI and a former close confidant of Prime Minister Imran, had said at the time that he had been compelled to take the legal course after the party leadership failed to hold the corrupt accountable for financial wrongdoings.

"When you receive funds from BJP members, then why would [you] not pray for Modi to win [the elections]? Why would Kashmir not be thrown in Modi's lap then?" Maryam said. "When you take money from someone, you have to do their bidding."

She said it was due to the PDM's movement that the premier was forced to re-open proceedings in the foreign funding case.

Mocking the PTI statement blaming the party's agents in the US for any possible illegal funding, Maryam alleged Imran "is either very foolish or he thinks the PDM and Pakistan's people are naive".

She said: "When the money was coming and you were spending it, you did not know it came from the agents. But when you had to answer, you remembered the agents after seven years when people asked and pressure was exerted."

She alleged that Imran "knew how to sign and receive money, knew how to spend money like water and use it to topple the [PML-N] government but did not know where the billions were coming from".

"If your agents have done all this, then tell in front of the ECP which agent put votes in your ballot boxes in the 2018 election. Tell the people of Pakistan [...] who were the agents who brought you to power. Who were the agents who got you fake certificate of Saqib (not Sadiq) and Ameen from [former chief justice] Saqib Nisar? Who were the agents who managed the media to get news of your choice run through pressure?" she told the premier.

"Pakistan is changing, no matter how much power and strength you exert, you will not be able to defeat the people."

Addressing the ECP administration, Maryam asked why the commission had "remained silent" when its "feet and hands were tied in the 2018 elections".

"When your institution (ECP) was held hostage and an incompetent person was selected and people's votes were stolen, why did you not speak?" she asked the ECP, adding that today Pakistan's people were "bearing the brunt of your silence".

She said along with the government, the people also held the ECP responsible inflation, rising prices of utilities and food items and governance failures.

Maryam alleged that Prime Minister Imran had "confessed to his crime" in the foreign funding case. "When someone accepts their crime, then there is no decision, there is only punishment," she said.

The PML-N leader was joined on the stage, set up atop a container, by PDM President Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other top leaders of the opposition alliance. Before the arrival of the top leadership, other opposition leaders delivered speeches.

'Helpless' ECP
Addressing the rally, Rehman alleged that the government was "not elected" and had no right to rule, and accused the "helpless" ECP of having failed to conduct transparent elections. "Some powerful institutions took over the election and imposed a daf-playing man on the people," he said.

"An incompetent person was made the ruler because this fool will remain in the front and those powerful institutions would rule [in the back]," he added.

The PDM chief repeated the allegation that Prime Minister Imran had "fought elections on money from India and Israel".

He said the PTI demanded instant justice in cases concerning others, but had submitted 50 requests to delay the foreign funding case against it. "They cannot remain rulers, they lied [and] hid foreign money," he alleged.

"Israel and India are Pakistan's enemies, you are using their money to make a person [the prime minister]. Pakistan is an atomic power, by making such a person sit on [the chair], they all become suspicious," he said, criticising the government's foreign policy which he said had cost Pakistan its regional allies.

"First, this government was illegal, then it was proved incompetent and inefficient and now it has been proven to be thieves. If the ECP still gives them protection, we will not be able to trust it with elections."

Noting that the government wanted the opposition not to bring students of seminaries to political rallies, Rehman said such participants were of age and intelligent.

"Why are you afraid of religious seminaries?" he asked the government. "On one hand, you say you want to bring them into the mainstream and when they want to come and understand the Constitution, you say they shouldn't. So where should we go then, towards guns?"

He announced that madressah students will attend the PDM Kashmir rally on February 5 as well as anti-Israel protests to be held in Karachi on Feb 21.

Urging supporters to "not lose enthusiasm", the JUI-F chief said: "I believe we have to set out on jihad and withdrawing is a sin. We have to stay in this circle and take our movement forward."

While addressing the crowd earlier, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal lashed out at the PTI government, which he said was "imposed on Pakistan through illegal money".

"Our social fabric has been destroyed, economy has been destroyed, CPEC has been destroyed. Time has come to send home this incompetent, inefficient, selected leader."

Iqbal said Prime Minister Imran Khan had said in the past that "if six people say 'Go Niazi Go', I will leave power" but now that "Go Niazi Go is being chanted from Karachi to Gilgit, he is stubbornly sitting".

He claimed that the premier would not remain in power "further" as the PDM would organise a long march that would "end his reign".

PPP's Raja Pervez Ashraf in his speech said hundreds of thousands of people were asking the ECP why it was "sitting on" and not deciding the foreign funding case for the last seven years.

"PDM leaders and workers say that democracy will be strengthened when ECP conducts transparent elections and all parties are treated equally," he said, accusing the premier of having "stolen the people's mandate".

"I demand on behalf of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari that foreign funding decision be taken immediately and Imran Khan be declared ineligible," he added.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan leader Owais Noorani in his remarks said the entire nation was "anxious" that the PTI foreign funding case that was pending for six years was not being decided. He said the rally was demanding "accountability" from the ECP, which he accused of "holding back" election results after the end of polling to allegedly ensure the opposition's defeat.

Also addressing the rally, Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) president Sardar Akhtar Mengal said the PDM was asking "supremacy of the Constitution" and its supporters had gathered today "to get the Constitution implemented on which the country is standing".

The PDM protest container. — DawnNewsTV
"People want supremacy of the Constitution but the rulers and establishment have crushed it under their boots," he alleged.

Mengal said if a small party from Balochistan or another smaller province had been found to be involved in illegal funding, it would have been accused of "treason".

"We have not run our parties on foreign funding but there has been a trend of saying 'Pakistan Zindabad' and then eating it up," he added.

Maryam and PPP's Sherry Rehman earlier shared visuals of separate entourages, each being led by leaders of the respective parties, moving towards a decided meeting point in the capital from where they headed towards the ECP office.

Before the rally, Maryam, BNP-M chief Mengal, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and PPP Senator Sherry Rehman gathered at the house of PDM President Rehman where they held a discussion on the arrangements for the protest and the security situation.

Other leaders including former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf of the PPP, retired Capt Mohammad Safdar and Khurram Dastagir also participated in the discussion.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his departure for the PDM rally, Rehman said the PDM leadership was "present and ready to go towards the protest outside the ECP" headquarters.

"The assets hidden by the party which calls itself the ruling party, the foreign funding case against it, six years have passed and around 150 hearings have been held but the government is delaying it by constantly filing requests. They have not declared their documents and hidden assets, they are still trying to hide them," he said, referring to the PTI.

Maryam Nawaz waves to the crowd after arriving at the rally. — DawnNewsTV
"The aid that could have been used against Pakistan, against national security — all these [matters] are very important and the PDM has decided to present the problem in the people's court and protest outside the ECP [and question] why they are delaying [a judgement in the case]".

Responding to a question, Rehman said that the alliance's leadership was "talking very carefully and within the limits of the law and the Constitution".

He said the PDM would also organise a protest in Rawalpindi on Feb 5 against the alleged sell-out of Indian-occupied Kashmir and to show solidarity with Kashmiris.

"We are going to Pindi on Feb 5. We will have a big gathering regarding a protest on the sell-out of Kashmir and solidarity with Kashmiris."

'ECP fully aware of its constitutional responsibilities'
In a statement issued after the PDM rally, the ECP defended its performance, saying it was "fully aware of its constitutional and legal responsibilities and determined to fulfil them without any pressure".

The commission said it remained "ever-ready" to ensure the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections, whether they were general elections, Senate elections, local government polls or by-elections.

"In the foreign funding case, the current Election Commission has made significant process despite the coronavirus pandemic, lawyers' court engagements and the retirement of a member of the scrutiny committee," the statement said.

It added that the scrutiny committee had been directed to hold "at least three meetings a week" in order to take the funding case to its logical end.

PDM rallies converge
In a statement earlier today, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said that all rallies headed towards the ECP will converge at Kashmir Chowk at 1pm, urging party workers and supporters to make their way to the protest.

"The ECP should start writing down its verdict in the foreign funding case, the people are on their way to receive it. The crime has been unearthed and the thief has confessed," she said, adding that the commission should complete the inquiry.

Some small rallies from Rawalpindi and Islamabad reached Serena Hotel Chowk from where PDM leaders led the main rally to the ECP headquarters.

All main opposition parties took part in the rally with the PML-N playing a leading role. JUI-F’s Rehman also led from the front with his party taking out two separate rallies. PPP joined the PDM power show, but its chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, did not attend. Instead, other senior party leaders participated in the protest.

The foreign funding case against PTI was filed in Nov 2014 by Akbar S Babar, a founding member of the party. He had alleged serious financial irregularities in PTI’s accounts.

The allegations made by Babar included illegal sources of funding, concealment of bank acco*unts in the country and abroad, money laundering, and using private bank acc*ounts of PTI employees as a front to receive illegal donations from the Middle East.

The ECP is expected to hear the funding case against the ruling party on Wednesday.

Tight security
The ECP building was completely sealed with concrete blocks and barbed wire surrounding it, while a large number of security personnel were deployed outside it.

More than a thousand security officials, including police and 300 Rangers personnel, were deployed outside the ECP headquarters, officials said.

Police said all entry and exit points to the capital's Red Zone, which houses high-profile buildings such as the Supreme Court and President House among others, had also been sealed.

Police officials were instructed not to carry firearms; only Rangers were allowed to carry firearms. The Special Branch and the CIA were also deployed for making arrests.

Meanwhile, the interior ministry also established a control room to monitor the protest.

'Free hand'
Ahead of the rally, Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that the government had not placed any obstacles for the opposition's protest.

"The smooth flow of traffic on the capital's highways is proof of the premier's pro-democratic mindset. The nation has not forgotten when the PML-N government targeted PTI protesters during a peaceful demonstration," he said.

These sentiments were also echoed by Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. On Monday, he said that the government had decided to give a free hand to the PDM to organise a rally in the Red Zone. But he made it clear that nobody would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

He said the PDM should know that the Supreme Court, Parliament House and other institutions were situated on Constitution Avenue and the government had taken all necessary security measures for their protection.

Responding to Aurangzeb's statement, PTI information secretary Ahmed Jawwad said that the movement which was "rejected by the people has started on the path to fascism".

"The disappointed and defeated opposition has started threatening the institutions [...] First the Supreme Court and accountability courts kept asking them for receipts [of their transactions] and now the ECP is asking them.

"The [PDM's] attempt to keep dead politics alive through threats and coming down on institutions has not been successful and will not be successful," he said.

 

[observer1]

I'm struggling to see how people support the likes of Maryam and Fazl.

I don't mean trolls or those with a nefarious agenda (like a few trolls on here).

But those who go to a protest, listen to these people talk absolute nonesense and then go home.

Can someone elaborate?

 

[last_knight]

I'm struggling to see how people support the likes of Maryam and Fazl.

I don't mean trolls or those with a nefarious agenda (like a few trolls on here).

But those who go to a protest, listen to these people talk absolute nonesense and then go home.

Can someone elaborate?

There is always a chance before the checkmate. Sharifs & Zardaris are face of a Mafia comprised of leeches from all parts of society who in turn will continue to protect kings from CheckMate. This is the lifeline of leeches.

 

[cric_man]

I'm struggling to see how people support the likes of Maryam and Fazl.

I don't mean trolls or those with a nefarious agenda (like a few trolls on here).

But those who go to a protest, listen to these people talk absolute nonesense and then go home.

Can someone elaborate?

Qeemay waley naan

 

[Pakpak]

The cheerleader Sethi who helped them rig the 2013 has openly said the plan is paralyse the economy. So I'm not surprised at these 'protests' in the middle of the pandemic.

 

[Bewal Express]

The cheerleader Sethi who helped them rig the 2013 has openly said the plan is paralyse the economy. So I'm not surprised at these 'protests' in the middle of the pandemic.

Thats been the plan all along, just look at the rise of Sugar prices or suddenly flour disappearing as the PPP steals it causing shortages and price rises. Sethi is badniyaat ******* and it shows how these guys that are pretending to be the saviours of PK have always been the problem.

 

[observer1]

If they're deliberately sabotaging the economy, at what point does the Army step in?

 

[Greenstorm]

You don't need to imagine, opposition parties are already struggling to provide even 10% of proof provided by PTI; they've provided record of 40,000 donors and I will tell you who yahoodi and Indians agents are.

All this so called foreign funding was overseas Pakistanis and I have personally attended few events and know how it all works. Let's look at shocking details of foreign funding:

Yahoodi funding: A US based overseas Pakistani paid $750 donation using his company check. Since owner of the company was a Jew so this becomes YAHOODI funding.

Indian funding: A Pakistani woman married to Indian man paid around $500, since her husband had Indian name so this becomes Indian funding.

Can you believe how pathetic this opposition is? Bunch of clowns who stole Billions of tax payers money are concerned about few hundred Dollars donated by Overseas Pakistanis?

Congratulations to people who managed to buy Imran Khan's loyalty by spending $1000; now they are controlling Pakistan's policies

Man, this is beyond hilarious )).

 

[The Viper]

Foreign funding case: PM Imran Khan challenges naysayers with open, televised proceedings

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday challenged all those skeptical of his party's activities by saying that the proceedings of the foreign funding case should be aired live on TV.

Speaking to journalists in South Waziristan, the prime minister said the proceedings should be open and that the party heads should attend the hearings.

"I can put it to a challenge that PTI is the only political party that has been involved in political fundraising," PM Imran Khan said, adding that the country runs on remittance by overseas Pakistanis.

Slamming the Opposition, he said that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman use madressah students to blackmail governments.

"How does he (Fazl) own properties worth billions of rupees?" the premier asked, adding that that the PDM chief was protesting with the sole aim of getting a concession under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

"They do not understand the nation's mindset. Our people are politically aware. They will not come out to back such thieves," PM Imran Khan said.

Read more: ECP wants foreign funding details from PPP, PML-N

The prime minister said that he was thankful to the Opposition for highlighting the foreign funding case and now sources of all parties' funds should be made public.

It is now the Opposition parties' turn to reveal the source of their funds, the prime minister stressed.

PM in South Waziristan
Earlier, PM Imran Khan announced that 3G and 4G services would be available in Waziristan from today, during this visit to the region.

PM Imran Khan shared the news with the people of Waziristan while addressing a Kamyab Jawan Programme's cheque distribution ceremony in Wana.

The prime minister was accompanied by the chief minister and governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Special assistants Dr Sania Nishtar, Usman Dar, and Shahbaz Gill.

He was also to be briefed about the development works going on in the region.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/330948-fo...ges-naysayers-with-open-televised-proceedings

 

[Mamoon]

Transparency Riyasat-e-Madinah style.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1606495/ecp-panel-rejects-plea-for-access-to-pti-accounts

 

[Bewal Express]

Transparency Riyasat-e-Madinah style.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1606495/ecp-panel-rejects-plea-for-access-to-pti-accounts

PTI has given a full record 40,000 contributions, tell me what's happening with the PPP and the Nooras. You post and run,for once in your life grow some balls and debate.

 

[observer1]

No one wants to hear the wailing on Sharif and Zardari anymore. We have heard enough over the years.

The reality is that Imran has skeletons in his closet. He has been running away from the FF case for years now but the wheels are slowly but surely coming off.

From “there is no illegal foreign funding” to “our agents proved to be corrupt” )

Only wailing I hear is from Nawaz ******* such as yourself.

Nawaz was convicted by Pakistan courts regarding the Panama money funneling yet he is living in the UK without any catharsis. If Imran can't even get a convicted felon to pay for his crimes, what hope does Pakistan have on completely clamping down on corruption in a few years marred by a literal plague and looming war with India.

 

[Bewal Express]

Transparency Riyasat-e-Madinah style.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1606495/ecp-panel-rejects-plea-for-access-to-pti-accounts

Here is the reason for this case

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2290181/pti-asked-to-submit-details-of-uae-funds

The scrutiny committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has asked the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to submit details regarding funds received from its four United Arab Emirates (UAE) employees and started compiling an implementation report on the investigation conducted so far.

The scrutiny committee meeting, chaired by director general law, was held to investigate the PTI’s foreign funding. The issue of receiving party funds in the bank accounts of PTI employees was discussed.

According to sources, the scrutiny committee sought details from the PTI of its four UAE employees as well as details of funds received in their names.

The scrutiny committee will submit an implementation report on the PTI’s foreign funding to the ECP. The commission has sought an implementation report from the committee on March 22.

The ECP will also hear the illegal funding case against the PTI on the same day for which a notice has also been issued to the ruling party.

The ECP will also decide on the request of Akbar S Babar, a founding member of the PTI, whether the details of the PTI accounts should be handed over to the petitioner or not.

Talking to media after the meeting, petitioner Babar said that the aim of the PTI is to get rid of this case.

“I will always be a member of the PTI,” he said. “I am a PTI member as per the decision of the high court.”

He said that the committee has not yet decided on the next date of hearing, adding that the money that came into the accounts of the employees should be investigated. He reiterated his demand that all the accounts of the employees should be obtained through the State Bank of Pakistan, saying that the PTI has admitted that the money in the employees' accounts does not have a record.

Separately, the Supreme Court on Thursday admitted the appeal of Prime Minister Imran Khan against petitioner Akbar S Babar in the foreign funding case for a preliminary hearing. A notice has been issued to Babar seeking a reply.

A three-member bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam, heard the appeal against the decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Premier Imran’s lawyer Anwar Mansoor Khan apprised the bench that Imran Khan had no objection to the scrutiny committee of the ECP, but Babar had been expelled from the PTI before the case was filed, and that the ECP had no authority to declare Babar a party member.

He said that the IHC has upheld the decision of the ECP, adding that it is up to the civil court to decide who’s a party member and who’s not.

“The ECP is not a court or tribunal … we object to Babar's participation in the scrutiny committee proceedings,” the lawyer said, adding that the scrutiny committee is doing its job and the party has no objection.

Justice Alam asked when was Babar expelled from the party … and how can you say that he cannot file a petition?

The lawyer replied that Babar was removed from the PTI on September 26, 2011, and the scrutiny committee should hold in-camera proceedings.

Meanwhile, Babar's lawyer said that the notice of expulsion from the party was not presented at any forum.

On this, Justice Yahya Afridi said, “You are being given a notice to submit a written reply.”

Later, the court adjourned the case hearing indefinitely.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.dawn.com/news/1614085/pti-foreign-funding-audit-wont-end-ecp-told

In remarks that surprised many, the head of the scrutiny committee auditing the ruling PTI’s foreign funding candidly told the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday that the scrutiny process would never end.

Informed sources told Dawn that during the course of hearing of a petition challenging the decision of the ECP scrutiny committee to keep Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s financial documents secret, when ECP member from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa retired Justice Irshad Qaiser inquired from the ECP director general (law), who heads the scrutiny panel, how long the scrutiny process will continue, the latter said “forever”.

When asked to submit a reply to the petitioner’s application, the DG law said he had already passed an order and there was no need to submit a reply.

“Yes. Now I recall, we had ordered the committee on August 27, 2020 to finalise its report in six weeks. You have to explain in writing why the committee fails to complete the scrutiny and submit a report within the stipulated time frame as directed in the order,” Justice Qaiser asserted. The scrutiny committee head, who is due to retire over the next few months, agreed to submit a written reply. He blamed both parties for the delay in scrutiny.

Akbar S. Babar, the petitioner and founding member of the PTI, wondered why it had taken three years for the committee to scrutinise PTI’s accounts without any tangible progress.

He said not a single out of six identified international PTI accounts had been sought, adding that all 23 accounts of the ruling party, mostly concealed from the ECP, remained secret and outside the purview of scrutiny. He said no auditor of any credibility would accept an audit where all bank statements were kept secret.

When the petitioner’s counsel pointed out that the panel was supposed to scrutinise the PTI accounts of five years (2009-2013) and that the party had refused to provide documents for the financial year (2012-13), the DG law said that “if they refuse to submit documents for that year, what can I do”.

The PTI’s lawyer claimed that they only received the notice the same day and needed more time to respond to the complaint.

Petitioner’s lawyer Syed Ahmad Hassan Shah read out excerpts of the committee’s order sheets whereby it reasoned that accounts were not shared as the PTI objected to it. He asked as to what law or rule allowed the accused to dictate terms of review, adding that access to all PTI record was a legal right of the petitioner, including under the Right to Information Act. He said the committee had neither the will nor the resolve to conduct a fair and transparent scrutiny. “It only wants the petitioner to rubber-stamp a fake scrutiny process.”

Counsel Shah suggested that if all the documents were shared with the petitioner, including all PTI bank statements requisitioned by the State Bank of Pakistan, they would scrutinise the entire record and submit their findings to the committee in a few days. It would then be up to the committee to review them and submit its findings to the ECP for further action.

The proceedings were adjourned till March 30.

Later, talking to reporters, Akbar S. Babar said all PTI accounts must be part of scrutiny without any exception. He said the people of Pakistan had a right to know if the PTI leadership was indulged in financial corruption and illegal funding.

He said his goal remained the same since the day he had filed the case — to resurrect the PTI on its founding principles. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan chose a path that had proved to be destructive for the party and the country.

The ECP adjourned till April 5 the hearing of a petition seeking disqualification of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as a senator.

The PTI on Monday filed with the commission an amended petition making two of its lawmakers, who had allegedly been offered bribe by former premier’s son Ali Haider Gilani, as pro forma respondents (a necessary party against whom no relief has been sought).

PTI’s Maleeka Bokhari, while appearing before a bench of the ECP, said MNAs Fahim Khan and Jamil Ahmad, seen in the video, were witnesses in their view but had been made a party on the commission’s directive.

The counsel for Senator Gilani and his son Ali Haider sought time for submitting written arguments.

Talking to reporters outside the ECP, PTI leader Farrukh Habib said the video of Ali Haider Gilani was a clear evidence of corrupt practices used for the election of Yousuf Raza Gilani on the Senate seat. “This evidence cannot be overlooked,” he said and appealed to the ECP to disqualify Mr Gilani in the light of the constitutional provisions.

Speaking on the occasion, PTI lawmaker Maleeha Bokhari said the PTI would continue its struggle for sanctity of vote. She said people’s confidence had been stolen and Constitution violated on March 3 by rigging Senate polls.

She alleged that the ECP had failed to perform its constitutional duty of holding free, fair and honest elections. “It is unfortunate that a constitutional body was not fulfilling its responsibilities.”

Mr Gilani’s counsel Ahmad Hasan, while talking to reporters, said the PTI was blaming the ECP for its own failure.

The ECP also adjourned hearing of a petition seeking disqualification of Faryal Talpur, a member of the Sindh Assembly and sister of former president Asif Ali Zardari.

The petition filed by PTI MPAs Arsalan Taj and Arabia Azfar accused Ms Talpur of concealing her assets.

 

[Bewal Express]

The ECP has lost all credibility of its support and patronage of the PPP and Nooras over the Senate election. Its needs to be disbanded asap and new honest members appointed

 

[Savak]

This guy lol Akbar Sher Babar is just another Reham Khan ie a very bitter relentlessly ruthless individual who cannot get over the fact that IK kicked him out and prevented him from encashing on ptis rising stock and his attitude is like if I can't enjoy power, I will make sure neither will you

 

[Savak]

The ECP has lost all credibility of its support and patronage of the PPP and Nooras over the Senate election. Its needs to be disbanded asap and new honest members appointed

The opposition is the one actually ruling the country. They have the ECP, NAB, Bureaucracy and some of the SC judges in their pockets. I mean in which other country in the world can a suspect so blatantly get away with video evidence where he is blatantly caught bribing someone and the suspect is going on with full confidence that he will never get caught and even if he does get taken to task he can just cry foul, political victimization and get sell outs, lifafa journalists to garner sympathy.

Ik needs to take a dictatorial, might is right approach to clean things up in this country because this working within the system approach is just disastrous

 

[MenInG]

A report by the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) scrutiny committee -- investigating into the foreign funding of the PTI -- on Tuesday unearthed that the party had concealed several accounts and around Rs310 million between 2008 and 2013 from the electoral body.

It further disclosed that the party had received $44,000 from 88 foreign donors during this period. The undisclosed accounts have been mentioned in a report by the State Bank of Pakistan. The scrutiny committee has also included its analysis of the bank accounts in the report.

The committee wrote in its report that the petitioner, Akbar S Babar, a former PTI leader, had failed to provide complete evidence of his claims.

The evidence provided by the petitioner cannot be proved in a court. The body said it could proceed on the basis of the information provided by the parties. The committee in its report has cited Indian, French and Australian laws on prohibited funding.

The details of the PTI’s funds and dollar accounts operated from abroad have been included in the report. The audit of PTI accounts of the SBP and US company Fara LLC are also part of the report.
According to the report, the PTI has two companies registered in the US for raising funds.

From April 2, 2013 to June 30, 2013, the PTI had received funds in the US to the tune of $554,280.
The PTI LLC had received $25,080 from 47 foreigners as well as $467,000 from Pakistanis. The other PTI company had raised another $2.344 million from February 2010 to June 2013.

It probably raised $19,000 from 41 foreigners and $107,000 from 230 companies. The scrutiny committee obtained information from the websites of the petitioner and SARA. The details of prohibited funding from other countries were not provided by the petitioner and the PTI.

Besides, no date has been mentioned on the PTI's audit report for the year 2012-13.

This, the report added, was against accounting standards. The cash receipts provided by the audit firm also do not match the bank accounts. The report further pointed out that there was reluctance when the petitioner sought bank statements.

According to the report, the PTI had disclosed only four of its 26 bank accounts. The SBP's bank statement showed that the PTI had received donations of Rs1.64 billion whereas it had only revealed an amount of Rs1.33 billion to the ECP.

The body was also denied access to the PTI’s bank accounts in Canada and New Zealand. According to the report, two bank accounts of PTI in 2008 and 2009 were not disclosed. As soon as the details of the report were unraveled, Babar took to Twitter to express his gratitude to the Almighty, saying that he stood "vindicated".

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2337228/pti-hid-rs310m-from-ecp

 

[MenInG]

Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday dismissed the allegations made against the ruling PTI in the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) scrutiny committee’s report in the foreign funding case, and on the contrary claimed that his party had emerged “vindicated”.

He also urged the ECP to publish a report giving a comparison of the PTI’s funds with those in the accounts of the PML-N and PPP.

Addressing a news conference after a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Fawad maintained that the sum of Rs310 million – which the party had allegedly hidden from the ECP -- was a single transaction counted twice and the matter would be taken up with the electoral body later.

The minister alleged that the former premier Nawaz Sharif used the PML-N’s account for “money laundering”. “A sum of Rs80 million was transferred in that account that was allegedly withdrawn by him [Nawaz] using certain tactics.”

Fawad also claimed that the report of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) that the scrutiny committee had submitted to ECP was prepared during the PML-N’s tenure. “The same report was used as the basis for the PTI foreign funding case before the ECP by the scrutiny committee,” he added.

The minister, accompanied by Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib, claimed that the PTI was the only party which had a legal and detailed funding system. “PTI activists from around the world fund the party with contributions starting from even one dollar.”

Fawad claimed that other parties had no such system as they were patronised by some ‘feudal lords’ or ‘businessmen’, who gave them funds, which were in fact used to “run the house affairs of their leadership”.

Denying news reports that the PTI had hid 53 accounts, Fawad said the party only had 26 of them, adding that even eight of them were inactive. “Only eight of these accounts are active with transactions taking place in them.”

Of the remaining 10 accounts, he added, the PTI had disassociated with four of them while the remaining six were used as subsidiary accounts. He maintained that the welfare wing of the party had its separate account as it was listed as a separate entity.

To a query, he said only 26 accounts of the PTI were mentioned on page number 84 of the report and the figure of 56 did not emerge anywhere in it.

“No issue of foreign funding has come to light,” Chaudhry claimed. Referring to media reports that as sum of Rs310 million of the Rs1.61 billion donated to the PTI was kept hidden, he said two transactions of Rs160 million and Rs150 million were shown. “Actually the transaction of Rs160 million was counted twice as the money from one central account was transferred to another.”

He said that issue would be argued before the ECP later on as the PTI had given details of every single penny to the electoral body. Moving on to other matters, the minister said the federal cabinet had given the nod to presenting the Statement of Contingent Liabilities in the National Assembly.

“The approval has been given in view of the guarantee given by the government of Pakistan to international organisations for development projects.” Fawad said the Centre had imported Covid-19 vaccine to the tune of $2 billion, claiming that the Sindh government had not imported a jab worth a single rupee.

“In addition to the NFC [National Finance Commission] award, the Centre has provided Rs111 billion to the Sindh government in the form of vaccine and Ehsaas programme.” He regretted that the Sindh government was not participating in the healthcare programme through which the government was providing free treatment up to Rs1 million to each eligible family at all hospitals.

He said it was a misconception that the health cards programme would shut down government primary health centres and hospitals. “In fact, the opposite would happen and the scheme would further help in improving the performance of government hospitals.”

The minister further said the ECP had written a letter for the provision of electronic voting machines (EVMs). “The cabinet has directed the science and technology ministry to decide about the purchase of EVMs and provide them to the ECP for the local bodies’ elections in the capital.”

Replying to a question, Fawad said that it appeared that the editorial policy of major TV channels was being decided by the PML-N. “Why are media organisations silent on this?” he asked, while referring to the alleged leaked audio of PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz and party leader Pervaiz Rashid in which the two purportedly talk about “certain journalists being biased”.

Separately, Habib, while talking to a private news channel, said all accounts of the PTI were declared as it strongly believed in transparency. “The opposition will face disappointment in the [PTI] foreign funding case,” he added. The state minister urged the ECP to take legal steps against those political parties who had concealed facts from the scrutiny committee.

(With input from APP)

 

[Hassaan HS]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I welcome ECP's scrutiny of PTI's funding through donations from Overseas Pakistanis. The more our accounts are scrutinised the more factual clarity will emerge for nation to see how PTI is the only political party with proper donor base premised on proper political fundraising.</p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1478630737331077120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[shaaik]

The opposition is the one actually ruling the country. They have the ECP, NAB, Bureaucracy and some of the SC judges in their pockets. I mean in which other country in the world can a suspect so blatantly get away with video evidence where he is blatantly caught bribing someone and the suspect is going on with full confidence that he will never get caught and even if he does get taken to task he can just cry foul, political victimization and get sell outs, lifafa journalists to garner sympathy.

Ik needs to take a dictatorial, might is right approach to clean things up in this country because this working within the system approach is just disastrous

Working within the system was never going to work and Imran Khan should hv realized it by now.. might is right is the only language Pakistanis understand..

 

[LaLoco]

The opposition is the one actually ruling the country. They have the ECP, NAB, Bureaucracy and some of the SC judges in their pockets. I mean in which other country in the world can a suspect so blatantly get away with video evidence where he is blatantly caught bribing someone and the suspect is going on with full confidence that he will never get caught and even if he does get taken to task he can just cry foul, political victimization and get sell outs, lifafa journalists to garner sympathy.

Ik needs to take a dictatorial, might is right approach to clean things up in this country because this working within the system approach is just disastrous

Do not necessarily agree with taking dictatorial approach.

Dictatorial approach may sound attractive but it will be short lived fix.

Things has to change with and within the system for the long term stability.

Dictatorial approach may work in countries such as Saudia Arabia but if Pakistan wish to remain a democracy then it must remain within the paradigm of democracy to fix its issues, understandably, this approach will be difficult and long.

 

[Savak]

The Opposition and Media Lifafa Journalists are propogating that the ECP report is indicting for PTI but apparently the report has more or less ruled out PTI being any foreign aided party. In the absolute worst case scenario, the funds in question can be confiscated but there is no basis for disqualifying the party.

 

[Major]

The opposition is the one actually ruling the country. They have the ECP, NAB, Bureaucracy and some of the SC judges in their pockets. I mean in which other country in the world can a suspect so blatantly get away with video evidence where he is blatantly caught bribing someone and the suspect is going on with full confidence that he will never get caught and even if he does get taken to task he can just cry foul, political victimization and get sell outs, lifafa journalists to garner sympathy.

Ik needs to take a dictatorial, might is right approach to clean things up in this country because this working within the system approach is just disastrous

Overseas Pakistanis want us to live under dictators. While they themselves enjoy life. Islamic laws and everything is for us......

Why not concentrate on the politics of the country you live in, oh right i forgot, minorities....

 

[Major]

So PTI again got exposed. THe "clean" and "transparent" governance turned to be all maambo jambo.

Now the party is resisting and it contradicts the anti corruption mantra.

Atleast now the PTI fans would think twice before calling others corrupt as the whole election campaign of PTI is under scrutiny.

 

[Bewal Express]

So PTI again got exposed. THe "clean" and "transparent" governance turned to be all maambo jambo.

Now the party is resisting and it contradicts the anti corruption mantra.

Atleast now the PTI fans would think twice before calling others corrupt as the whole election campaign of PTI is under scrutiny.

Stop watching Maryams brought media. Its us that funded the PTI and we will continue to do so. You should worry about your mafia because they have no donors outside PK so where did 98% of the money come from.

 

[Bewal Express]

The Opposition and Media Lifafa Journalists are propogating that the ECP report is indicting for PTI but apparently the report has more or less ruled out PTI being any foreign aided party. In the absolute worst case scenario, the funds in question can be confiscated but there is no basis for disqualifying the party.

These guys just watch Maryams media and Tokri walas and then show their ignorance here.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign from his office immediately following the "damning" report of the scrutiny committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and also asked the institutions to take action as per the law.

"Imran Khan should resign forthwith for his deliberate lies, concealing of facts and illegal foreign funding," Maryam said while addressing a presser in Lahore on Thursday.

"He [Premier Imran Khan] is responsible for concealment, misdeclaration and misstatement, and so, action should be taken against him and his party."

"The ball is now in the court of the institutions tasked with ensuring rule of law and people are hoping for them to take action as they did in the case of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif."

“The PTI declared only 4 of its 18 active accounts, out of a total of 26 accounts,” she said, adding, “This isn’t just about lying, but they also made their fullest efforts to sabotage the ECP probe.”

Maryam added: “At first, they tried to pressurise the ECP then they resorted to hurling threats to prevent it from making the report public. When this wasn’t enough, they challenged its jurisdiction and used delaying tactics for the next seven years.”

The PML-N stalwart further said that the ruling PTI took funding in the name of the party’s employees, from the US, Middle East, Australia, Canada and England while some of the companies were based in Australia and Canada.

“The PTI submitted false and fabricated certificates to the ECP,” she said, adding that PM Imran was the principal signatory of the foreign funding and it was all authorised by him as well as by then PTI leader Arif Alvi.

According to her, “The PTI simply failed to justify where it got the foreign funding from and where it spent it.”

Earlier today, both the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held separate meetings to devise their respective anti-government campaigns.

According to PPP leaders, the party had decided to begin receiving applications for national and provincial assemblies soon, enabling the ticket holders to start campaigning in their constituencies.

The PML-N also held an all-important meeting prior to today’s presser by party’s Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, attended by Ahsan Iqbal, Shahid Khaqan Abbassi Rana Sanaullah and other leaders.

Earlier today, both the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held separate meetings to devise their respective anti-government campaigns.

According to PPP leaders, the party had decided to begin receiving applications for national and provincial assemblies soon, enabling the ticket holders to start campaigning in their constituencies.

The PML-N also held an all-important meeting prior to today’s presser by the party’s Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, attended by Ahsan Iqbal, Shahid Khaqan Abbassi Rana Sanaullah and other leaders.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2337369/pm-imran-must-step-down-over-ecp-damning-report-maryam

 

[Major]

Stop watching Maryams brought media. Its us that funded the PTI and we will continue to do so. You should worry about your mafia because they have no donors outside PK so where did 98% of the money come from.

lol us.....

There is no record of where the money came from..... 0 accountability on PTIs end

 

[Bewal Express]

lol us.....

There is no record of where the money came from..... 0 accountability on PTIs end

Look at the title-this was about Foreign funding. So where is the Foreign funding? Surely, they had the proof before they went to the ECP,so what happened to it. The PTI accounts are audited but you should be worried because billions came into the Nooras and PPP and they have no proof as to the sources . Infact if you actually watch the proceedings 98% of 61 crore the Nooras got from outside PK had no proof at all. Yes, 98% and you will also know that they have no donating to them outside PK. This will get interesting. You are a sucker for Nanis tokris

 

[Savak]

I hope the pti after this saga goes after this character Akbar Sher Babar.

 

[the Great Khan]

Look at the title-this was about Foreign funding. So where is the Foreign funding? Surely, they had the proof before they went to the ECP,so what happened to it. The PTI accounts are audited but you should be worried because billions came into the Nooras and PPP and they have no proof as to the sources . Infact if you actually watch the proceedings 98% of 61 crore the Nooras got from outside PK had no proof at all. Yes, 98% and you will also know that they have no donating to them outside PK. This will get interesting. You are a sucker for Nanis tokris

Also what's failed to be mentioned is the funding from within Pakistan is all accounted for. The other choars can't even do this. The foreign funding is a good way tontry and portray the PTI as a yahoodi agent but its neither here nor there. They have raised fund from mostly overseas Pakistanis. And if there was any skull duggery the authorities within those countries would deal with it. After all the law enforcement there is better than in Pakistan.

Also questions should be directed at the other parties too.

I will say that once again the PTI are playing nice..this is Pakistani politics and they need to be more aggressive towards the taukri wali and her menagerie of vile creatures..

 

[MenInG]

The Elec*tion Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday served a second notice on Prime Minister Imran Khan to explain his position on the allegation of violating the code of conduct for the second phase of local body elections in 18 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The notice was issued by District Monitoring Officer of Malakand Ziaur Rehman through the prime minister’s secretary.

The first notice was issued to the prime minister by Malakand’s DMO on March 20 when Mr Khan allegedly violated the code of conduct by addressing a rally in Malakand district, where elections would be held on March 31.

In the first notice, the DMO urged PM Khan to appear in person or through his counsel before him on March 22 to explain his position.
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“In continuation of this office notice issued on March 20, you were required to appear in person or through counsel before the undersigned today on 22, 3, 2022, to explain your position regarding violation of code of conduct. However, despite service of notice, you have failed to do so.”

In the second notice issued on Tuesday, the prime minister has once again been urged to appear before the DMO on March 24. “In case failure for the second time it will be presumed that you have nothing in defence and your case would be decided in your absence under relevant law, rules and available record,” reads the second notice.

It is worth mentioning that the DMO of Swat has also imposed a fine of Rs50,000 each on PM Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, federal Minister for Communication Murad Saeed, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and provincial ministers Dr Amjad and Muhibullah Khan on March 21 for violating the Election Commission of Pakistan’s code of conduct by holding a public gathering in Swat on March 16.

The Malakand’s DMO has also served second notices to federal ministers Murad Saeed and Syed Ali Haider Zaidi and provincial minister Shakeel Khan for addressing the public rally in Malakand along with the prime minister.

They were issued first notices on March 20, but none of them appeared before the DMO in person or through council.

Bilawal warned
The Malakand’s DMO has also advised Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari not to attend the planned public rally to be held on March 23.

In the advisory issued to the PPP chairman the DMO said it had come in his knowledge from social media that he would address a congregation in Dargai tehsil of Malakand district on March 23.

“Keeping in view the code of conduct for local body elections, you are advised not to attend/participate in any congregation or to do any action that is against the code of conduct and directive issued by the ECP failing which necessary action as per law will be initiated,” reads the advisory.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2022
https://www.dawn.com/news/1681353/ecp-to-proceed-against-pm-if-no-response-received?preview

 

[daytrader]

Overseas Pakistanis want us to live under dictators. While they themselves enjoy life. Islamic laws and everything is for us......

Why not concentrate on the politics of the country you live in, oh right i forgot, minorities....

Please explain how living under a political dynasty is any different from dictatorship?

 

[Local.Dada]

Please explain how living under a political dynasty is any different from dictatorship?

Nothing to do with Pakistan politics here but political dynasties are voted into power by people for good or bad , people don’t have a choice with dictators. That’s the difference.

I don’t endorse dynasties but that’s the logical difference.

 

[Major]

So this is the leash that the army is using against pti if it ever decides to stand against them..

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to wrap up the foreign funding case of the PTI within 30 days.

The orders were issued by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on applications filed by the PTI asking for Akbar S Babar’s separation from the case, the dismissal of the case, and keeping the PTI documents secret.

The PTI had challenged the ECP’s applications seeking the exclusion of Babar, the petitioner, from the foreign funding case. It had also demanded that all records of the case, including the documents requisitioned through the State Bank of Pakistan, should not be shared with Babar, who had filed the case in November 2014.

However, the IHC ruled that the ECP’s role “is of important nature and same cannot be curtailed in any manner”. It noted that the body is a “supervisory, regulatory and administrative body under the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 to deal with the affairs of political parties, election and its results”.

It also noted that “no restriction could be imposed upon ECP to adopt any process of inquiry, investigation, scrutiny to reach out the mandate of assigned duty in terms of Article 17(3)”.

“If any of the party funding has been received through prohibited sources, it will affect the status of such political party including its chairman, therefore, it is necessary to dig out the truth, even petitioner being political party is also under obligation to maintain its dignity and integrity, which has far reaching effect in Pakistani society and if any foreign funding has been received contrary to law and mandate of the Constitution, the petitioner has to face the music,” said the judgment.

The order also said that the apex court has not “restricted” the ECP to “adopt any method to reach out the truth”.

“The claim submitted by the petitioner is not maintainable as petitioner itself is not able to demonstrate any of his legitimate right when itself is in agreement that respondent No 2 (Akbar S Babar) can participate in the proceedings to the extent of information which he has provided to the scrutiny committee or the ECP, therefore, this petition is not based upon bona fide, rather filed with specific motive, just to stop respondent No 2 Akbar Sher Babar to participate in the proceedings, which has already been settled by this court in the previous proceedings, therefore, instant writ petition is misconceived and' the same is hereby dismissed with direction to the ECP to decide the pending complaint within period of next thirty (30) days by all means, after hearing the parties in accordance with law,” said the judgment.

The ruling PTI hid funds worth millions of rupees from the (ECP), the report of an ECP scrutiny committee probing the party's funds had revealed on January 4.

The report stated that the PTI provided "false information" regarding the party's funding to the ECP. It said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP's) bank statement revealed that the party had received Rs1.64 billion in funding.

According to the report, the party did not disclose funding worth more than Rs310 million to the ECP.

The scrutiny committee was formed in 2019 to audit foreign funding received by the PTI. The case began in 2014 when the party's founding member, Akbar S Babar, filed it.

GEO

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Here is my argument.

Should the Election Commission be sacked and rebuilt from scratch?

It's like having an army, but when the war begins, it says, "I am not ready"

 

[Savak]

The PDM is going to come down real hard on PTI in the foreign funding case. They control the judiciary and the ECP and now have the military on their side. They are planning to banish and eliminate the pti as the third political force in the country

 

[Colorblind Genius]

The PDM is going to come down real hard on PTI in the foreign funding case. They control the judiciary and the ECP and now have the military on their side. They are planning to banish and eliminate the pti as the third political force in the country

And with ECP in their pockets, it will be wishful thinking to hope for even a remotely free and fair election.

See the IK's support in the streets today, and I won't be surprised NOT to see even 30% of it reflected in the election results.

Bookmark this thread, if anyone wants to.

 

[Bewal Express]

The PDM is going to come down real hard on PTI in the foreign funding case. They control the judiciary and the ECP and now have the military on their side. They are planning to banish and eliminate the pti as the third political force in the country

They will try, but unless the SC goes totally corrupt( which is a possibility) it will only be a fine when they look at all the facts.The other problem the mafia have is that they have no money trail at all for their overseas accounts. If the ban the PTI, they have to also ban the mafia

 

[Colorblind Genius]

They will try, but unless the SC goes totally corrupt( which is a possibility) it will only be a fine when they look at all the facts.The other problem the mafia have is that they have no money trail at all for their overseas accounts. If the ban the PTI, they have to also ban the mafia

IK will probably make another mistake if he relies on SC and/or, on fair n free elections. It ain't happening. Guaranteed!

IMO, civil war is the only way, otherwise, you can't get rid of these crooks now. EVERYTHING is in their pocket EXCEPT the public's street power.

 

[Bewal Express]

IK will probably make another mistake if he relies on SC and/or, on fair n free elections. It ain't happening. Guaranteed!

IMO, civil war is the only way, otherwise, you can't get rid of these crooks now. EVERYTHING is in their pocket EXCEPT the public's street power.

We will see. If there is a civil war all PKs lose. But one wrong calculation by either side could lead to lives being lost and once that happens its Martial law

 

[Mamoon]

An honest man wastes no time in clearing his name. Firstly because it is easy for him to do so because he has nothing to hide.

Secondly, his self-respect and dignity doesn’t allow him to have his name maligned.

The fact that Imran has been running away from this case for years and PTI has demanded secrecy in investigations clearly indicate that Imran has skeletons in the closet.

Not only is he a traitor who violated the constitution and defied the SC verdict, he is also not the saint he projects himself to be.

 

[Bewal Express]

An honest man wastes no time in clearing his name. Firstly because it is easy for him to do so because he has nothing to hide.

Secondly, his self-respect and dignity doesn’t allow him to have his name maligned.

The fact that Imran has been running away from this case for years and PTI has demanded secrecy in investigations clearly indicate that Imran has skeletons in the closet.

Not only is he a traitor who violated the constitution and defied the SC verdict, he is also not the saint he projects himself to be.

Can you explain why the Nooras and PPP have no explanation at all. They will all be fined.

 

[IMMY69]

An honest man wastes no time in clearing his name. Firstly because it is easy for him to do so because he has nothing to hide.

Secondly, his self-respect and dignity doesn’t allow him to have his name maligned.

The fact that Imran has been running away from this case for years and PTI has demanded secrecy in investigations clearly indicate that Imran has skeletons in the closet.

Not only is he a traitor who violated the constitution and defied the SC verdict, he is also not the saint he projects himself to be.

Where's the Pawri?

 

[MenInG]

As the election watchdog steps up the proceedings of the foreign funding case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to summon other political parties in their respective cases as well.

Speaking to media outside the ECP office in Islamabad, Qureshi said they were not fretting but other parties should also be summoned to face relevant cases. He added the claim of foreign funding against the PTI did not hold water and all funds were legal. He further said the scrutiny committee in charge of the case against the party extended its mandate. “Our record is clean,” he said, adding that overseas Pakistanis also supported the PTI.

Earlier in the day, PTI lawyer Anwar Mansoor appeared before the ECP in the foreign funding case. During the hearing, Mansoor argued that the ECP board was incomplete as two of its members could not be appointed as of yet. He said as per the Election Act 2017, the commission’s strength must be complete.

Speaking about the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking a conclusion of the foreign funding case within 30 days, the PTI counsel said the observation given by the high court was unfortunate as the order also included the points on which arguments had not been given.

Mansoor further said the Political Parties Order allowed funding from foreign companies. He said the case pertained to the illicit funding that could take place even from inside the country.

The case against the PTI pertained to the period between 2009 and 2013, he said, adding that the TORs submitted to the scrutiny committee only mentioned foreign funding and the committee could only have probed the foreign funding in case of such allegations.

Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned till next week after his arguments.

The foreign funding case is pending since November 14, 2014. The case was filed by Akbar S Babar who had alleged serious financial irregularities in the PTI’s funding from Pakistan and abroad.

On January 4 this year, an ECP scrutiny committee report had unearthed that the PTI had concealed several accounts and around Rs310 million between 2008 and 2013 from the electoral body.

It had further disclosed that the party had received $44,000 from 88 foreign donors during this period.

The undisclosed accounts have been mentioned in a report by the State Bank of Pakistan. The scrutiny committee had also included its analysis of the bank accounts in the report.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/235330...her-political-parties-in-foreign-funding-case

 

[MenInG]

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday challenged the order to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to decide on the foreign funding case within 30 days.

PTI's Asad Umar filed an intra-court appeal in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the earlier decision by the court. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had issued a judgment upholding the ECP’s decision to give access to the case's record to the PTI’s founding member Akbar S Babar and not to remove him from the proceedings.

The PTI had filed petitions on January 25 and 31 on the aforementioned two requests that were rejected by the ECP on March 15. The party had then moved the top court against the ECP decisions.

While talking to the media outside the court, the former planning minister said the ECP had become biased and that the people of Pakistan do not believe that the present electoral body could conduct transparent elections.

"We have been criticising the Election Commission since our tenure," he said. "We wholeheartedly accepted the decision of the Supreme Court. However, how can the courts open at midnight for powerful individuals whereas it takes a poor man more than twenty years to get justice."

He added that 'imported government' cannot function for long and there were visible cracks within the alliance.

"There is a video in which Imran Khan and PTI leaders called for a neutral chief election commissioner. The video is proof that PTI did not install one of its own in the electoral body," he said. "But, it is clear from the attitude we are seeing that this is not a neutral election commission."

He further added that the previous government did not try to 'remove the chief justice by forming a Quetta bench nor did we attack the court by sending thugs'.

"We wholeheartedly accepted the decision of the Supreme Court but criticism of decisions is a Constitutional right that does not weaken institutions," he said

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2353450/pti-challenges-ihc-order-on-foreign-funding-case