Islamabad: Pakistan’s election watchdog on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to the ousted prime minister. Imran Khan‘s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafi 34 Party to receive prohibited money from foreign nationals.
A three-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), comprising Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, Nisar Ahmed Durrani And Shah Muhammad Jatoi Announced unanimous decision.
Election watchdog Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) received funds from 34 foreign nationals and business tycoon Arif Naqvi.
Interestingly, the ECP’s decision comes after The Financial Times newspaper published the title ‘The strange case of a cricket match that helped Khan’s political rise’.
The report said the fees were paid to Wootton Cricket Limited, which, despite the name, was a Cayman Islands-incorporated company owned by Naqvi, the founder of the Dubai-based Abraaj Group.
The ECP announced that the party had kept 13 accounts secret, which was a violation of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Article 17(2) of the Constitution states: “…the law shall provide that where the Federal Government declares that any political party has been constituted or is acting in a manner prejudicial to the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, having, the Federal Government, refer the matter within fifteen days of such declaration Supreme court on such reference the decision of which shall be final.”
It issued a show cause notice to Khan’s party to explain why his money should not be confiscated.
It was also declared a ‘false declaration’ thanks to an affidavit filed by Khan.
PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry said most of the money for the party came from foreign Pakistanis, and the ECP’s decision proved that it was not a case of “foreign funding”.
“I do not understand why the PML-N, JUI and PPP have declared foreign Pakistanis as enemies. We consider foreign Pakistanis to be the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and we will continue to depend on them for our funding.”
PTI and ECP have been face-to-face for some time now. Khan has been accusing the Chief Election Commissioner Raja of bias.
On Monday, Khan announced that his party workers would protest outside the ECP office in Islamabad on Thursday to press for Raja’s resignation.
A three-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), comprising Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, Nisar Ahmed Durrani And Shah Muhammad Jatoi Announced unanimous decision.
Election watchdog Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) received funds from 34 foreign nationals and business tycoon Arif Naqvi.
Interestingly, the ECP’s decision comes after The Financial Times newspaper published the title ‘The strange case of a cricket match that helped Khan’s political rise’.
The report said the fees were paid to Wootton Cricket Limited, which, despite the name, was a Cayman Islands-incorporated company owned by Naqvi, the founder of the Dubai-based Abraaj Group.
The ECP announced that the party had kept 13 accounts secret, which was a violation of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Article 17(2) of the Constitution states: “…the law shall provide that where the Federal Government declares that any political party has been constituted or is acting in a manner prejudicial to the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, having, the Federal Government, refer the matter within fifteen days of such declaration Supreme court on such reference the decision of which shall be final.”
It issued a show cause notice to Khan’s party to explain why his money should not be confiscated.
It was also declared a ‘false declaration’ thanks to an affidavit filed by Khan.
PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry said most of the money for the party came from foreign Pakistanis, and the ECP’s decision proved that it was not a case of “foreign funding”.
“I do not understand why the PML-N, JUI and PPP have declared foreign Pakistanis as enemies. We consider foreign Pakistanis to be the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and we will continue to depend on them for our funding.”
PTI and ECP have been face-to-face for some time now. Khan has been accusing the Chief Election Commissioner Raja of bias.
On Monday, Khan announced that his party workers would protest outside the ECP office in Islamabad on Thursday to press for Raja’s resignation.