Daily Times

The major opposition parties Wednesday said the scrutiny of PTI’s overseas funding by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had exposed Prime Minister Imran who had taken the oath of telling the truth, but instead, he hid his party bank accounts from the Commission.

In a statement, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the ECP’s scrutiny committee report had exposed Imran Khan’s “ugly face tainted with corruption”. He said Imran Khan had taken the oath of telling the truth, but instead, he hid the PTI’s bank accounts from the ECP, says a news report.

He said the “selected” prime minister, who “embezzled crores” of rupees, ridiculed others for corruption. But it was now clear that Imran Khan was imposed on the country only under the guise of a so-called anti-corruption campaign. He made false promises and looted the country instead.” Bilawal further said Imran was “forcibly portrayed” as honest and then imposed on Pakistan, but the time has come for him to give an account of his actions.

PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif termed the report a “damning indictment” of the prime minister. “PTI has been running away from foreign funding case for last 7 years and now we know why. The facade of ‘Sadiq aur Ameen’ (honest and righteous) has been shredded into pieces,” he tweeted.

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz also blasted the premier, saying “when the person who accused others of stealing was searched himself, his hair was found to be steeped in thievery.” She alleged that PM Imran “accrued wealth from others in the name of funds, used it for luxury and then lied again and again to hide [his] stealing”. “Has there been a corrupt, false and conspiratorial ruler like Imran Khan in the history of Pakistan?” she asked. Maryam warned the premier to be ready, as the “time for accountability has come.” Maryam questioned why he did not let the case proceedings continue for the last seven years. “Why did you [Imran Khan] keep hiding for so many years and then kept begging that the report should not be released?” she questioned.

She claimed that PM Khan thought “the people of Pakistan are fools who will believe whatever he says.” Welcoming the report and its claims, the PML-N leader further wrote, “The report has only just surfaced and your record is already tainted.”

“Think of the time when you will be held accountable regarding these fundings; you will be questioned from whom did you receive the money, where did you spend it, how did you manipulate your employees’ accounts, etc.” “You have not only committed theft and fraud but are also guilty of insulting words such as sadiq (honest) and ameen (trustworthy),” she reiterated.

Meanwhile, PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Wednesday said the proof of Akbar S Babar’s allegations was available in the scrutiny committee’s report whereas PTI only denied the accusations but gave no proof. In a press conference, Shahid claimed that PTI used all the tactics to prolong the case but failed to provide the record of 300 million in that time. Meanwhile, speaking during a party meeting, JUI-F and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Fazlur Rehman said the scrutiny committee’s report was an “eye-opener” for all.

“The report, pointing towards financial irregularities, is a dangerous trend […] Imran Khan is busy defending those foreign powers which heavily funded and brought him into power,” he said.

ECP report: According to the ECP’s report, the party under-reported an amount of Rs312 million over a four-year period, between FY2009-10 and FY2012-13. Year-wise details show that an amount of over Rs145m was under-reported in FY2012-13 alone. “A perusal of the chartered accountant’s opinion on the accounts of PTI for this period does not indicate any deviation from the reporting principles and standards,” the report pointed out. It also called into question the certificate signed by PTI chairman Imran, submitted along with the details of PTI’s audited accounts.

The report also refers to the controversy over allowing four PTI employees to receive donations in their personal accounts, but says it was out of the scope of its work to probe their accounts. The report emerged as the ECP resumed hearing of the foreign funding case against PTI on Tuesday after a gap of around nine months.

The case has been pending since Nov 14, 2014. Since then, the ECP and the scrutiny committee have heard the case over 150 times, with PTI seeking adjournment on 54 occasions.

The scrutiny committee was formed in March 2018 to completely scrutinise PTI accounts, but it took almost four years to present its report to the ECP, which was submitted in Dec 2021.