PML-N, PPP failed to provide details of party funds despite ECP orders: Farrukh

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for Railways, Farrukh Habib Sunday said the PML-N and PPP, two leading political parties of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), had failed to provide details of their party funds and expenditures before a Scrutiny Committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the last four years, despite repeated orders.

Addressing a news conference along with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz, he said all political parties were constitutionally bound to submit details of their funds, expenditures and sources with the ECP.

He said submission of the party funds’ detail was an ‘open and shut’ matter and there should be no confusion on it.

He said a scrutiny committee of the ECP had time and again asked the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) during the last four years to provide details of the party fund sources and its utilization.

In the given scenario, Farrukh Habib said the leadership of PDM had no moral ground to stage a protest in front of the ECP office on January 19, against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) that had submitted the complete detail of party funds comprised around 40,000 entries, invoices, CNICs and addresses of donors and expenditures.

The parliamentary secretary said that it was a fact that the PMLN chief had received millions of rupees from Osama bin Laden in the past to topple the legitimate government of Benazir Bhutto.

Under the law, it was mandatory for both the PMLN and PPP to give details of party funds and expenditures to ECP and nation, he maintained.

Farrukh said that it was also necessary to know about that the two parties received funds from which channels -Hundi, Hawala or money-laundering. The parliamentary secretary said it was on record that PMLN and PPP have been receiving funds from foreign donors.