The decision was taken in a meeting attended by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Akram Khan Durrani, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s (PML-N) Ahsan Iqbal, National Party’s Tahir Bizenjo, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Nayyar Bukhari and Farhatullah Babar, Awami National Party’s Mian Ifthikhar, and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s Usman Khan Kakar.
The opposition leaders then held a meeting with the ECP secretary to submit the document before addressing media personnel outside the ECP office.
“This case has been pending for the past five years. Why are those who claim to follow the model of the state of Madina so afraid of being held accountable for their actions?” said Durrani.
“The delays in this case will prove very harmful for Pakistan. The ECP must conduct daily hearings and conclude this case as soon as possible.”
PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal claimed the PTI had dozens of ‘benami’ accounts for which the party had never provided details.
“Funds coming in from countries including the United States, India, and the UAE are being deposited in the personal accounts of Imran Khan and his friends,” he said
PTI founding member Akbar S Babar had filed the foreign funding case before the ECP in 2014 after he developed differences with PTI Chairman Imran Khan over alleged internal corruption and abuse of laws governing political funding.
For over a year, the proceedings of the case were delayed in the ECP as the PTI had filed a writ petition in the Islamabad High Court in October 2015 seeking to restrain ECP from scrutinising its accounts.
In February 2017, the IHC had remanded the case back to the ECP for a fresh review of its jurisdiction. On May 8 of the same year, a full bench of the ECP had once again declared its complete jurisdiction over the matter and stated that the PTI had failed to produce any evidence that the petitioner had been expelled from the party.
A scrutiny committee was constituted in March 2018 to complete the audit of PTI’s funding sources in one month. Later on, its mandate was extended for an indefinite period.
In October 2019, a three-member bench of ECP headed by Sardar Mohammad Raza rejected four applications filed by PTI requesting secrecy during the investigation.
