Opposition parties have lambasted Prime Minister Imran Khan and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for reported nondisclosure of millions of rupees in election funds, as brought to light by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the ongoing foreign funding.
The report, issued by a scrutiny committee of the ECP, indicated that PTI provided “false information” about their funding to the constitutional body.
A bank statement from the State Bank of Pakistan showed that the party received Rs1.64 billion in funding, of which more than Rs310 million remained unreported and unaccounted for, according to the report.
A chorus of members from various opposition parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), condemned the ruling party’s concealment of funds and called for immediate further investigation.
In a statement, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that Imran Khan, “not only stole and hid but also plundered the pockets of the people and indulged in their hard work and hard earned money.”
عمران خان نے نا صرف چوری کی اور چھپائی بلکہ عوام کی جیبوں پر ڈاکہ ڈالا اور انکی محنت اور خون پسینے کی کمائی پر عیش کی۔ پے درپے انکشافات،لیکس اور ثبوتوں کےانبار عمران سمیت پوری پی ٹی آئی کو فارغ کرنے کے لیے کافی ہیں،اتنے سنگین فراڈ اور سکینڈل تاریخ میں کسی جماعت کے نہیں آئے
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) January 4, 2022
PPP’s Central Information Secretary Shazia Marri echoed the sentiment, calling for the prime minister to give himself up for investigation.
عمران خان تلاشی دو! #ForeignFundingCasePTI
— Shazia Atta Marri (@ShaziaAttaMarri) January 4, 2022
At a press conference in Lahore, the PPP information secretary demanded that PTI and PM Imran Khan provide the ECP with complete details of their bank accounts and funding sources.
“You have given details about 12 accounts, where are the details of the rest of the accounts?” she inquired.
PDM spokesperson Hafiz Hamdullah released a statement reiterating that the ECP’s findings, “revealed the theft of Imran Khan and PTI”.
“The scrutiny committee has exposed the true face of the PTI before the nation […] Imran Khan and PTI, who accused others of theft, turned out to be thieves themselves,” Hamdullah said.
The ongoing foreign funding case against PTI was filed in 2014 by the party’s founding member Akbar Babar.
In the original filing, Babar alleged significant financial irregularities, including illegal sources of funding, hidden bank accounts in Pakistan and abroad, money laundering, and the use of private bank accounts to receive illicit funds from the Middle East.
