ECP adjourns PTI foreign funding case until Feb 7

ISLAMABAD: A five-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) heard on Tuesday the foreign funding case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on a petition by disgruntled party founder Akbar Babar.

The bench is being headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) retired Justice Sardar Raza Mohammad Khan.

The CEC in its December 12 hearing had summoned for the second time PTI finance secretary Azhar Tariq Khan, after the party had failed to submit its reply to Babar’s objections raised against PTI's documents submitted in the ECP and Supreme Court.

Azhar, during today's hearing, rubbished Babar’s objections, and said that the petitioner is not even aware of the contents of the documents submitted to the ECP, which are not public. 

The petitioner, meanwhile, requested the commission again to grant him permission to submit additional documents regarding the PTI's funding. 

The ECP denied the request and said Akbar should have provided all documents as part of his first request.

The hearing was then adjourned until February 7. 

Meanwhile, the ECP also heard and adjourned the case of PTI's intra-party elections until January 23. 

PTI submits accounts’ details to ECP in foreign funding case

PTI asked the ECP to give a receipt to the party, but the request was flatly denied by the ECP

In 2014, Babar filed a petition in the ECP seeking the disqualification of PTI Chairman Imran Khan for allegedly obtaining funding from illegal sources and discrepancies in the party’s accounts.

He also claimed that funds worth $3 million were collected by the PTI chief, transferred from illegal channels from the Middle East to bank accounts of PTI members.