Fazl terms foreign funding case biggest scandal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday termed the foreign funding case the bggest scandal in the political history of the country and Prime Minister Imran Khan the central accused of the case.

He was addressing a press conference with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, former prime minister and Senior Vice President of PML-N Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Alhaj Akarm Khan Durrani, Awami National Party’s Mian Iftikhar Hussain and other leaders after a PDM steering committee meeting here.

He said the PDM’s scheduled march to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) today (Tuesday) will be a protest and not an attack. He said the meeting discussed the strategy for today’s protest outside the ECP and it was decided that the PDM leadership will enthusiastically stage a protest demonstration in front of the ECP regarding the foreign funding case.

The foreign funding case against the PTI was filed in November 2014 by Akbar Sher Babar, a founding member of the party. The case relates to allegations of undisclosed foreign funding of the PTI.

“We will demand the ECP to immediately give a decision on the crime which has been accepted,” Maulana Fazl said, adding further delays were giving rise to doubts and suspicions.

The PDM chief appealed to the people to participate in the protest for the sake of national security and against obtaining funds from anti-Pakistan lobbies. Maulana Fazl said PDM members were democratic people and followed the Constitution and the law. “We want freedom of democracy in the country because this is the demand of the Constitution and the law,” he added.

Informing about the decisions taken by the PDM steering committee, he said on January 21 there will be a million march in Karachi against Israel, followed by a rally in solidarity with Kashmiris on February 5 at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi. “There will be a full scale protest against those who sold off Kashmir,” he said.

Maulana Fazl further said the decision to contest the Senate elections from the platform of the PDM will be discussed in the upcoming meetings, adding: “It is my personal point of view that PDM should contest the Senate elections through a joint strategy.”