ECP denies any directives for completion of foreign funding case

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has denied that it has issued any directives for the completion of foreign funding case, which involves the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), within 15 days. In a statement issued Saturday, the ECP said there was no truth in the reports that the ECP had decided or issued any instructions to complete foreign funding case in 15 days. Earlier on Thursday, the ECP accepted the request of opposition parties to conduct daily hearings of the foreign funding case involving the ruling party PTI. An ECP bench headed by the CEC conducted hearing on the opposition parties' application and declared it maintainable before fixing November 26 as the date to commence proceedings of the case on daily basis.

On Wednesday, the leaders of the Rahbar Committee, an alliance of nine anti-government political parties led by Akram Durrani, the committee's convenor, visited the ECP headquarters and met Secretary ECP Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad before submitting an application addressed to the CEC regarding foreign funding case.

In the application, the opposition leaders, except those of Jamaat-e-Islami which is not part of the Rahbar Committee, urged the CEC that "in the interest of justice, the said case may be heard on daily basis and decided at the earliest during the term of this commission."

CEC Raza was retiring on the coming December 6 and it seemed unlikely that the foreign funding case would be completed in his term at the ECP, sources in the ECP told Business Recorder.

On September 26 this year, the ECP decided to resume hearing of over five-year old foreign funding case and issued notices to the parties to the case.

In November 2014, Akbar Sher Babar, one of the founding members of the PTI, had moved the ECP accusing the PTI of being a foreign-funded party and seeking action against it in accordance with related constitutional provisions. The case has since been pending and its last hearing was held in March 2018. In the same month last year, the ECP formed a Scrutiny Committee headed by Director General (Law) Muhammad Arshad to scrutinise the funds of PTI and submit its report in a month but the committee has not furnished its report.

In a related development, Babar has moved a petition in the ECP requesting the commission to expedite the completion of foreign funding case and announce verdict accordingly.

Meanwhile, the ECP has asked all the political parties to create their websites and post the party constitutions as well as all the relevant details of their organisational hierarchy on these websites. In this regard, the ECP has sent letters to all the political parties registered with the Commission.