In its verdict on the “prohibited funding” case on Tuesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) stated that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had received the prohibited cash and issued a show-cause notice to PTI.
The Commission discovered that funds for fundraising came from 34 different countries. According to Geo News, these countries included the United States, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. According to the ECP, the PTI also received donations from an American businessman.
The ECP noted the ‘unknown accounts’ in its judgement and stated that concealing accounts is a “violation of the Constitution.”
Furthermore, was discovered that PTI Chairman Imran Khan filed a forged Nomination Form I.
The ECP decided to issue a show-cause notice to the PTI to explain why the commission should not seize the funds it received.
According to the magazine, the ECP revealed the reason list for the case on Monday. According to the cause list, the decision will be pronounced by a three-member panel chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, who arrived at the office early in the morning.
The decision to release the verdict comes after a Financial Times exposé showed that the PTI got funds from Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi’s Wootton Cricket Club. The monies were raised through a charity match, and an Arab celebrity also contributed significantly.
According to Geo News, the cash were raised through a charity match, and an Arab celebrity also contributed significantly.
The Financial Times piece offered ammo to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), who requested that the verdict be announced as soon as possible.
On the condition of anonymity, ECP officials had informed Daily Jang that the electoral commission will publish the foreign funding ruling within the first week of August.
The PTI hid funds worth millions of rupees from the ECP, according to the report of an ECP inspection committee investigating the party’s funding, which was released on January 4, according to Geo News.
According to the report, the PTI presented “fake information” to the ECP about the party’s fundraising. According to the announcement, the party received Rs 1.64 billion in finance from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
According to the investigation, the party failed to disclose to the ECP contributions totaling more than Rs 310 million.
The scrutiny committee was formed in 2019 to audit foreign funding received by the PTI.
