Prime Minister Imran Khan’s proposal of a public hearing of the foreign funding case, and that it should be “aired live on TV,” is appreciated as the right way to proceed under the circumstances and should have been accepted as such by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). So far all the people know about it is what they get to watch and listen to on prime time TV shows, where it is natural for the information to tilt in favour of whichever party is delivering it at any particular point in time. And so the matter has dragged for eight long years. Now, the only way to ensure that the people get to know what is really happening is to follow the prime minister’s advice and make it an open hearing. The proceedings should, in fact, be covered by Pakistan Television (PTV) in the lead so other stations can relay the live telecast as well. Once everybody sees the cross-examinations, presentation of documents and different sides of the argument, they will get to know the facts for themselves and anybody still spreading false information in the public domain would be automatically stripped of all legitimacy. To be fair, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) has dragged its feet over this case for more than half a decade, but now that its leadership wants to make it completely transparent, it’s position should be taken very seriously because it is, at the end of the day, in the larger public interest. It is unfortunate that ECP has ruled out a public hearing, at least for the time being, because there’s no reason for it to do so. It is, as its spokesman implied, a very sensitive case and must be approached with extreme caution; which includes discouraging irresponsible public statements. But what better way is there to both uphold its sensitivity and put an end to all unnecessary and irresponsible chatter than showing the whole country the real truth of it? How and from where political parties get their funds is ultimately central to how democracies work because such things decide in no small part which parties are able to outperform others at elections. And that only lends support to the argument in favour of a public hearing of the foreign funding case. *