ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had ruled the party did not receive foreign funding and now it should probe other political parties.
He said the PTI is the only party that has proper public funding, unlike other political parties. He said during 2008 to 2013, the PTI received over three billion rupees mostly from overseas Pakistanis.
“Why do the PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F consider overseas Pakistan as their enemies? They are the backbone of the nation. We will continue to receive funds from them,” he said.
He said the case was related to either foreign funding or prohibited sources. He said even the ECP has not declared it foreign funding despite their least expectations.
Regarding the sixteen accounts which were misdeclared, he said PTI Chairman Imran Khan has no relation with the accounts. He said the next strategy will be to launch a campaign that the 16 subsidiary accounts were also legal.
He maintained that all parties including PML-N, PTI, JUI-F should declared their funding. He said the ECP should also look into the funding sources of other political parties.
In a reply to a question, he said there is a difference between foreign and prohibited funding. He said foreign funding was by foreign governments, rather than their citizens. He said JUI-F received funds from Libya’s Saif-ul-Islam Kadhafi which should be probed by the ECP as well.
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the reserved verdict and ruled that PTI did indeed receive prohibited funding. However, the commission issued a show-cause notice to the PTI rather than taking action.
The electoral watchdog also ruled that the party received funds from business tycoon Arif Naqvi and from 34 foreign nationals. It said the party had taken ownership of eight accounts and kept 13 hidden.
The ECP decided to issue a show-cause notice to the PTI to explain why the commission should not seize the funds it received. The commission also said that PTI chief Imran Khan had submitted a “misdeclaration” with the commission.
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