Foreign funding case: ‘PTI admits its leaders operated 11 illegal accounts’

ISLAMABAD: Former PTI information secretary and founding member Akbar S Babar claimed Thursday that PTI admitted that many of its leaders had illegally opened and operated eleven PTI accounts.

Those who illegally opened and operated eleven PTI accounts include NA Speaker Asad Qaiser, KP Governor Shah Farman and Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, senior Punjab minister Mian Mahmudur Rashid and many other party MNAs and MPAs.

He said this while speaking at a news conference at the National Press Club, wherein he pointed out that the shocking revelation came in the written para-wise PTI reply on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Scrutiny Committee Report, submitted before the ECP on March 15, 2022. It took the ruling party well over two months to submit its reply to the report.

Babar said the PTI disowned eleven PTI accounts which were operated by senior PTI leadership during the period 2009-13. He added in its reply, PTI stated that these eleven accounts were operated by these individuals, not authorised by the competent authority for the opening (PTI) bank account, therefore this bank account was operated without the knowledge of the PTI Finance Department. While disowning these eleven accounts, he emphasised that

PTI admitted on page 112 of its reply to the ECP that a total of Rs23.22 million was transferred to these accounts from PTI central accounts. He said that PTI also admitted that an amount of Rs57 million was deposited in the eleven accounts from local sources which were never accounted for with the PTI central accounts.

The ECP Scrutiny Committee Report was shared with the two parties on January 4, 2022. After repeated reminders, PTI finally submitted its comments on the Scrutiny Committee Report on March 15, 2022 after delay of two and a half months. And, in between, it filed two fresh applications demanding removal of the petitioner and PTI founding member Akbar S Babar from the case and keeping the records secret from him.

However, the ECP rejected the two PTI applications on March 15 and allowed the petitioner’s lawyer to proceed with his concluding arguments on the case pending before the ECP since November 14, 2014. The Scrutiny Committee report had verified the accusation of the petitioner regarding concealment of dozens of PTI bank accounts maintained in Pakistan and abroad.

Besides others, he said, citing the reply, that these eleven accounts were allegedly operated by NA Speaker Asad Qaiser, KP Governor Shah Farman, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Punjab Senior Minister Mian Mahmudur Rasheed, former Punjab PTI President late Ahsan Rasheed, PTI MPA from Sindh Samar Ali Khan, former PTI MPA from Sindh Seema Zia, PTI MNA Sindh Najeeb Haroon, PTI MPA from Karachi Samar Ali Khan, Jahangir Rehman form PTI President Sindh, Khalid Masood former PTI General Secretary from KP, late close friend and PM Imran Khan’s adviser Naeemul Haq and Zafarullah Khattak.

He explained that the eleven PTI accounts were disowned by PTI on pages 113, 118, 120, 132, 144, 157, 159, 169, 178, 197, and page 199 of PTI’s written reply submitted before the ECP on March 15, 2022. It stated on these pages that these individuals were not authorised by the competent authority for the opening bank account, therefore, these bank account were operated without the knowledge of the PTI Finance Department.

Sharing the details of PTI’s reply before the ECP, Babar said that based on the evidence before the ECP, there was no doubt that PTI Chairman Imran Khan submitted false and fake annual certificates before the Election Commission of Pakistan. He continued billions of rupees and millions of dollars of illegal funding was received from foreign companies and foreign citizens including India that were illegally concealed by PTI.

He demanded the resignation of PM Imran Khan and all those who allegedly operated PTI accounts according to PTI’s own report. He also demanded that the ECP should take notice of all those involved in illegally opening, operating, and collecting funds by PTI’s own account.

Babar said after PTI’s own admission of accounts being illegally operated by its top leadership who are also holders of constitutional positions, they had no right to continue in their positions and should resign immediately.

He noted that the PTI foreign funding case had been pending since November 2014 and the State Bank of Pakistan had shared details of PTI accounts and related data on the direction of the Election Commission of Pakistan to the ECP Scrutiny Committee, which prepared report and submitted to the Election Commission.

Babar wondered how PTI could say that it was answerable for the money, which was deposited in these accounts but he insisted that by submitting its reply, PTI had charge-sheeted its senior leadership and his (Babar’s) position stood vindicated. He claimed the foreign funding of PTI was mega scandal and there was no justification for Imran Khan to remain premier.

However, he regretted that Imran Khan was still clinging on to power and claimed that the scrutiny committee had cleared him. “It would have been better for him to first go through the report, which had confirmed the charges he had leveled on him. I challenge Imran to have a live debate with me. Today, even he speaks truth, it is seen with doubt, as he has been running away from accountability for the last over seven years,” he alleged.