ISLAMABAD: The coalition government leaders held a meeting with the officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan and demanded immediate announcement of the PTI’s prohibited funding case.
A senior PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told media on Friday that a delegation of Pakistan Democratic Movement, PPP and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan met ECP officials and urged them to release the verdict in the prohibited funding case against the PTI at the earliest in line with the electoral watchdog’s “constitutional responsibility”.
“We told the ECP today that it is their obligation towards the people of Pakistan, and constitutional responsibility to announce the PTI’s funding case,” Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said while speaking to the media out the ECP office in Islamabad.
The PML-N leader said the delegation also conveyed to the ECP that it was the people’s right that the report was shared with them.
The prohibited funding case was filed by Akbar S Babar and it has been pending for eight years, since Nov 14, 2014. Last month, the ECP had reserved its verdict in the case, but did not announce the decision yet despite growing pressure from the government.
A few days ago, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also urged the ECP to announce its judgement on the long-delayed case. He again raised alarm over the delay in the verdict yesterday.
Along similar lines, Abbasi also highlighted the delay in the conclusion of the case in his presser today and said “justice merits immediate action, according to the law and due process, whenever there’s an issue.”
In the meeting with ECP members, Abbasi continued, “We said that the election law in the country states that any party taking funding from a foreigner has to declare who gave it the money, when and how much.
“And no party has the authority to take funding from a foreign company.”
He questioned whether Imran had “sold his decisions” by taking money from foreign entities.
The former prime minister said Babar had presented “clear evidence” in the case eight years ago, when it had first surfaced.
