Foreign funding cases: PTI submits new application to IHC for speedy decision

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday submitted a new application to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for a speedy decision on foreign funding cases of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and other parties.

PTI leader Farrukh Habib filed a separate application in a pending case in the IHC requesting that the verdict of foreign funding cases of the PML-N, PPP, and other parties be announced soon.

He also requested in the application that the court should order the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct hearings on prohibited funding cases of other parties on a daily basis.

The PTI leader adopted the stance that other political parties were given an opportunity to take political advantage of the “false report against the PTI” and such tactics are a direct attack on democracy.

The application said that the fundamental rights of the PTI and its members are being “violated.” It maintained that the important questions raised in the petition should be answered for the protection of democracy.

In August earlier this year, the ECP had issued its verdict in the prohibited funding case — previously referred to as the foreign funding case — against the PTI, which stated that the party did indeed receive prohibited funding.

In the verdict, the commission noted that the party “knowingly and willfully” received funding from Wootton Cricket Limited, operated by business tycoon Arif Naqvi. The party was a “willing recipient” of prohibited money of $2,121,500, it said.

The ECP said that the party “knowingly and willfully” also received donations from Bristol Engineering Services (a UAE-based company), E-Planet Trustees (a Cayman Islands private registered company), SS Marketing Manchester (a UK-based private company), PTI USA LLC-6160 and PTI USA LLC-5975 which were “hit by prohibition and in violation of Pakistani laws”.

The PTI, however, claimed that all money it received was actually donations from Pakistanis living abroad and did not fall under the premise of illegal funding.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022