A PTI lawyer stated that some people illegally collected funds in the name of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.
This was stated by PTI lawyer Anwar Mansoor during his arguments before the Election Commission of Pakistan, which was hearing a case involving foreign funding on Wednesday.
The lawyer contended that the PTI was not liable for any funds collected without the permission of the party’s central finance committee.
Mr. Mansoor was arguing about the ECP scrutiny committee report. He believed that the evidence presented by the petitioner was untrustworthy. He stated that the ECP should investigate prohibited funding, which had nothing to do with foreign funding.
The case was heard by a three-member ECP bench led by Chief Sikandar Sultan Raja.
The PTI lawyer argued that because the petition was fraudulent, no arguments were heard on the scrutiny report. He stated that the Ahsan & Ahsan Co report was downloaded from the internet by the scrutiny committee. According to him, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) keeps track of funds collected by the party agent. He stated that the party was aware that funds had been collected and that it had submitted its records to the scrutiny committee.
According to the lawyer, the party was responsible for the collection received from the agent. He added that if the agent misappropriates, the party is not liable.
He stated that the scrutiny committee was given all records of funding collected in the UK and the US between 2010 and 2011. We gave the committee a list of all our donors, he added.
He claimed that the scrutiny committee rejected our donors’ records based on an incorrect assumption and that our donors were simply Pakistanis living abroad.
“The PTI received no funds from foreign nationals,” Mr. Mansoor claimed.
The CEC remarked that he should have informed the scrutiny committee of these facts.
Nasir Durrani, an ECP member, asked what action the PTI took when they discovered that their agents had misappropriated funds.
The lawyer responded that the party had removed these agents.
He stated that the party had specifically directed its agents in foreign countries that all funds be collected under the PPOK, and that if an agent violated the order, he would be held personally liable.
The PTI lawyer expressed regret that many political parties did not have funds in their accounts but would still hold public rallies. He was perplexed that these parties held public meetings and large protests but had no funds in their accounts.
A member of the ECP pointed out that no such party was registered with the commission.
The election commissioner stated that he agreed completely with the lawyer and that it was the most important task that the commission had been entrusted with. He mentioned that the ECP had upgraded its political finance wing specifically for this purpose.
The ECP has postponed the funding case until tomorrow.
PTI petition heard by ECP
Separately, the Election Commission heard a petition filed by the PTI requesting that the accounts of other political parties be scrutinized.
The case was heard by a two-member bench. However, no one appeared in front of the panel on behalf of petitioner Amir Kiyani.
The ECP member from Sindh objected, instructing the commission staff to mark the petitioner absent.
The ECP Balochistan member requested that the petitioner’s lawyer present his arguments at the next hearing.
The bench then adjourned the hearing until May 23.
