On November 14, 2014,a petition was filed before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) based on the evidence of illegal funding, money laundering, and mega corruption of PTI funds. The petition demanded that the ECP start an investigation of all those responsible for that in PTI, from the chairperson to others, in accordance with the law for gross violations of political funding laws. On November 18, 2014, the petitioner, Akbar S Babar received a life threat from a PTI member, personally close to PTI’s Chairperson Imran Khan, in front of three witnesses, to back off from the legal course pursued to internally reform the PTI. On November 21, 2014, a letter was sent to the federal interior secretary, demanding an investigation and personal security against the life threat.
On April 1, 2015, the ECP passed an order explicitly stating that PTI’s annual audit reports submitted before the ECP did not include details and sources of funds, which are requirements under law. On October 8, 2015, the ECP rejected PTI’s petition challenging its jurisdiction to scrutinise PTI’s accounts. On November 26, 2015, the PTI filed a writ petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), challenging ECP’s jurisdiction and locus standi of Babar.
On February 17, 2017,the case was remanded back to the ECP, after a delay of a year and a half, to re-ascertain ECP’s jurisdiction and PTI’s membership of Babar. On May 8, 2017, the ECP again asserted its jurisdiction over the case and stated that there was not an iota of evidence that Babar has been expelled from the party. On October 8, 2015, the ECP rejected PTI’s objections to maintainability and jurisdiction of the ECP to hear the case and demanded examination (scrutiny) of record on November 10, 2015. Between November 2014-to date, the PTI has filed five writ petitions in the IHC, challenging the ECP’s jurisdiction to scrutinise PTI’s accounts and PTI membership of Babar.
In one petition, the PTI demanded that its scrutiny should be conducted in camera. In another writ petition filed on November 26, 2015, Khan stated in a sworn affidavit that he was not answerable to ordinary citizens of Pakistan for the scrutiny of his accounts.The latest verdict of the IHC, announced on July 24, 2018, rejected Khan’s plea that Babar was not a member of the PTI.
Khan has always been chanting slogans against corruption and in favour of transparency. After coming to power, taking U-turns, he has changed his mind
All PTI petitions have been rejected by the ECP and the IHC to stop or suspend ECP’s scrutiny of its accounts under one or another pretext. To date, the PTI has refused to comply with over 24 written ECP orders, demanding production of documents, including PTI’s bank statements of accounts maintained in Pakistan and abroad. In March 2018, the ECP constituted a scrutiny committee headed by DG Law ECP, and two auditors, DG Audit Defence Services and Controller Accounts Pakistan Air Force, to scrutinise PTI’s accounts. Between March and July 2018, the PTI once again refused to produce financial documents including bank statements despite over two dozen meetings of the committee.
On July 3, 2018, the ECP wrote to the State Bank of Pakistan to produce PTI’s financial records for the period 2009-13. The State Bank complied by writing letters to all scheduled bank presidents, demanding PTI bank statements to be submitted to the ECP by July 16, 2018.
The scrutiny stalled after the initial one of PTI’s bank statements revealed 23 bank accounts all over Pakistan operated by PTI leadership as against a total of eight declared ones before the ECP. The fake PTI accounts discovered contain billions of rupees of transactions in rupee and foreign currencies, all illegal.
The sample evidences shared with the petition are:
1. Two companies registered in the US under the signatures of PTI Chairman Imran Khan for illegal funding from the US: PTI USA LLC No. 5975 – USD 1,998,700; PTI USA LLC No. 6160 – USD 669,000.
2. One company registered in Australia is with the title Insaf Australia Incorporated. Australian Business Number 45838549859 from the ANZ Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited Bank, Account Number 00102012397479527102, are also in the picture. The total amount collected and remitted to Pakistan is to be determined. The sample evidence of AUD 35, 200 transmitted from this company submitted. All the monies received from the internationally incorporated companies, such as PTI USA LLC and Insaf Australia Incorporated are prohibited under law.
3. In this game of illegal funding from the UK, the key players are Aneel Mussarat and Sahibzada (Chico) Jahangir. PTI UK, registration number 07381036, played a pivotal role. At least two UK-based accounts functional in the name of the PTI, identified at the Lloyds Bank (Sort Code 30-92-90), were used to wire millions of UK pounds and were not disclosed with the ECP. These are the accounts 00191424 and 26675768.
4. Illegal funding from Denmark, the sample evidence of DKK 249,669 is submitted.
5. Illegal funding from the Middle East, including from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. The key player is Zulqarnain Ali Khan, PTI Coordinator, Middle East, now rewarded with the post of chairman, Utility Stores Corporation. He admits on video to be the lead funder of PTI, and yet no record with the ECP of the Middle Eastern funding. Arif Naqvi, head of Abraaj Group, also remained a key player. The amounts remitted through hundi are only on account of membership fees documented and shared with the ECP. Saudi Arabia: 226,240 Saudi Riyals/Rs 8,370,880; Saudi Arabia: 694,000 Saudi Riyals/Rs. 25.6 million annually; UAE: 590,000 AED/Rs. 22.42 million per year; Kuwait: USD 6,291/2.89 million per year; Qatar: USD 5,940/Rs. 0.80 million per year; Bahrain: USD 918/Rs. 123, 930 per year. The evidence of around Rs 52 million remitted annually through hundi is already shared with the ECP
The billions of rupees given to Imran Khan and admitted by Zulqarnain Ali Khan on video, and by Arif Naqvi, who according to Reham Khan’s book, quoting Khan, funded 66 percent of PTI’s 2013 election funds, are not included in these amounts that are yet to be identified.
Regarding the foreign funding case, Khan has been bearing a big question mark on his forehead since long. He needs to justify and clear his position rather than beat about the bush. Khan has always been chanting slogans against corruption and in favour of transparency. After coming to power, taking U-turns, he has changed his mind. Dual standards will never work any more. Such behaviour will definitely distort the sociopolitical system of the country, and this scandal could become the Watergate of Imran Khan.
The writer is a book ambassador, columnist, political analyst and author of several books. He is based in Islamabad