Tag: foreign funding

  • ‘Imran Khan ko ibrat ki alaamat bana dena chaahiye’: Maulana Fazl

    ‘Imran Khan ko ibrat ki alaamat bana dena chaahiye’: Maulana Fazl

    “Imran Khan should be made an example of,” demanded Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday.

    “A reference should be filed against Imran Khan as he is no more Sadiq and Amin,” the PDM leader said.

    “Whether it is Imran Khan or Dr Arif Alvi, [they] should immediately resign from the party because they have proven to be criminals,” said Maulana Fazl, adding that “all the political parties had decided to initiate action” against Imran Khan and his party as they were now “proven criminals”.

    “Whether it is Imran Khan or Dr Arif Alvi, [they] should immediately resign from the party because they have proven to be criminals,” said Maulana Fazl, adding that “all the political parties had decided to initiate action” against Imran Khan and his party as they were now “proven criminals”.

    “But today, we have reached the stage where it is now clear that he was backed by a foreign agenda and tried to harm Pakistan,” said the PDM chief.

    “Imran was a foreign puppet who was brought into politics as [part of] a foreign agenda. He took help from Israel and India […] today all these facts have been unearthed. His fundraisers had links to Israel, India, Denmark, Canada, Finland, and many other countries,” alleged Maulana Fazl.

    ‘Biggest theft in history’: Nawaz Sharif calls out Khan after ECP verdict

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif said that the biggest theft in the country’s history has been committed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Imran Khan.

    Sharif made these comments in London after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced its verdict in the PTI foreign funding case on August 2.

    ECP said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan submitted a false Nomination Form I. The PTI chairman kept accounts hidden, which the ECP said is a violation of the Constitution, and the affidavit provided regarding party accounts was also false.

    The commission noted that “the party knowingly and willfully received funding from Wootton Cricket Limited, operated by business tycoon Arif Naqvi. The party was a willing recipient of prohibited money of $2,121,500”.

    “Khan claims he is an honest leader but the ECP verdict has exposed his lies,” said Nawaz.

    Nawaz urged the coalition government to “take immediate legal action” against PTI and eliminate the ‘fitna’ of Imran Khan forever. He added that Imran Khan should be punished as soon as possible.

    “Khan knew that he had committed the biggest money laundering [in the country’s history]. This is the reason he kept demanding the chief election commissioner’s resignation,” said Nawaz.

    Read more – British journalist Simon Clark says he has evidence to back his claims on PTI foreign funding

    Sharif claimed that Khan was working on a foreign agenda.

    Former CJP Mian Saqib Nisar should be punished

    Talking about the former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, who conferred the titles of Sadiq and Ameen upon Imran Khan, Nawaz said that the judge should also be punished. It is pertinent to mention that Saqib Nisar disqualified Nawaz Sharif from holding public office for life.

    “A time will come when Nisar will have to answer these questions,” said Nawaz.

    He also demanded an answer from former CJP Asif Saeed Khosa and alleged that he invited Khan to present his grievances before the court rather than protesting on the streets.

  • ECP verdict: Govt decides to place Imran and other PTI leaders on no-fly list

    ECP verdict: Govt decides to place Imran and other PTI leaders on no-fly list

    After the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) verdict was announced yesterday in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) foreign funding case, the coalition government has reportedly decided to put the names of PTI Chairman Imran Khan and other PTI leaders on the no-fly list to prevent them from leaving the country. The government has also decided to move the Supreme Court (SC) to hear the reference it is going to file in the wake of the ECP verdict.

    The government will put the names of former premier Imran Khan, ex-governors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh and former chairman of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) Zulqarnain Ali Khan on the no-fly list, reports The Express Tribune.

    The government will also request Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial to constitute a full court to hear the case, which is yet to be filed, reports Geo News.

    All the government allies were unanimously on board for taking strict legal action in light of the ECP’s verdict.

    PTI to move IHC

    “The PTI will file two different petitions — one contempt of court petition against ECP for violating the Supreme Court and high court’s decisions for not giving verdict against PPP and PML-N together with PTI, whereas the second petition would be filed against the ECP’s decision for having too many loopholes in the verdict,” announced Asad Umar yesterday.

    “People trust Imran Khan and that’s why they sent their money to him when he started the fundraising events. If you block political donations, the only other way is that of powerful people,” he added.

    Just after the decision was announced, PTI leader Fa­­wad Chaudhry said that most of the money was donated by overseas Pakistanis.

    He said that he could not understand why the PML-N, JUI-F and PPP declared overseas Pakistanis as an “enemy”.

    “We consider overseas Pakistanis to be the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and will continue to rely on them for our funding,” said Fawad. About the certificates that were submitted to the ECP by Khan, Fawad said that these certificates were made by the auditors and Khan had just signed them so the responsibility cannot be put on Imran.

    The former premier had personally issued certificates to the ECP in regards to Article 13(2) of the PPO to the effect that PTI “does not receive funds from prohibited sources”, meaning thereby that the PTI is not a foreign-aided political party.

    On Tuesday, the ECP said that PTI received ‘prohibited funds’ from 34 foreign nationals. The PTI was issued a show-cause notice after the unanimous verdict by a three-member bench of the ECP headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.

  • PTI foreign funding case: ECP says PTI received prohibited funds

    PTI foreign funding case: ECP says PTI received prohibited funds

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in its verdict on Tuesday unanimously ruled that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) did indeed receive prohibited funding and issued a show-cause notice to the party.

    A three-member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja announced the verdict in a case filed by PTI founding member Akbar S. Babar. Akbar filed the case on November 14, 2014. The verdict was reserved on June 21.

    The ECP said that the party, in violation of the Constitution, had received funds from 34 foreign entities. The party received funds from the United States, Australia, and the UAE. The ECP added that 13 unidentified accounts also surfaced during the probe in the PTI funding case.

    It says that PTI Chairman Imran Khan submitted a false Nomination Form I. The PTI chairman kept accounts hidden, which the ECP said is a violation of the Constitution, and the affidavit provided regarding party accounts was also false.

    The commission noted that “the party knowingly and willfully received funding from Wootton Cricket Limited, operated by business tycoon Arif Naqvi. The party was a willing recipient of prohibited money of $2,121,500”.

    ECP Verdict on PTI’s foreign funding case is attached below;

    ECP-VERDICTDownload

    The ECP said that the party knowingly and willfully also received donations from Bristol Engineering Services (a UAE-based company), E-Planet Trustees (a Cayman Island private registered company), SS Marketing Manchester (a UK-based private company), PTI USA LLC-6160, and PTI USA LLC-5975 which were hit by prohibition and in violation of Pakistani laws.

    The ECP went on to say that the party had only owned eight accounts before the commission and declared 13 accounts to be unknown. “The data obtained from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reveals that all the 13 accounts disowned by the PTI were opened and operated by senior PTI management and leadership at [a] central and provincial level.”

    The PTI chairman submitted Form-I for five years (between 2008-2013), which was found to be “grossly inaccurate on the basis of the financial statements obtained by this commission from SBP and other material available on record”.

    “Imran Khan for the five years under review has filed submissions that were grossly inaccurate and wrong. Even during the course of scrutiny and hearing by this commission, the PTI continued to conceal and withhold complete and full disclosure of [the] source of its funds.”

    The demand for an announcement of the verdict in this important case increased following an explosive story by the Financial Times, revealing the sources of funding of the PTI.

    Read more: PTI foreign funding case: New revelations in Financial Times spark another controversy

    Khan persistently has been demanding CEC Raja’s resignation, accusing him of being biased towards the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    Read more: What did Bushra Bibi and Khan do after losing the no-confidence motion? Imran reveals all

    Addressing his party members at PTI’s national council meeting in Islamabad on August 1, Khan called for a protest outside the ECP office in Islamabad on Thursday, August 4, to demand CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja’s resignation.

    PTI foreign funding case: ECP to announce verdict tomorrow

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that its verdict on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s foreign funding case will be announced tomorrow (Tuesday, August 2) at 10am.

    Earlier it was reported by Daily Jang that after eight years ECP might announce its verdict this week in the PTI foreign funding case.

    ECP officials revealed that the investigations into international money-laundering have been completed.

    “PTI is only harming itself by filing a judicial reference against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja,” said ECP officials. They said that during the hearing of this judicial reference, certain matters that were earlier “hidden from public view would be revealed”. They further claimed that the judicial reference against the Election Commission of Pakistan and the CEC “is an attempt to create a smoke screen ahead of the verdict” by “blackmailers” who are part of an international money-laundering ring.

    The officials further said that ECP will not bow to any “blackmailing and will not come under any pressure”, clarifying that the ECP has no bias toward any political party.

    The development has come forward after an investigative report published in Financial Times revealed new details about PTI’s foreign funding.

    After the FT report, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the coalition government, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), met ECP officials and urged them to release the verdict on the foreign funding case.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has also repeatedly urged the ECP to announce its verdict in the long-delayed case.

  • Relationship with military ‘exceptional’, PM Khan assures all good with the army

    Relationship with military ‘exceptional’, PM Khan assures all good with the army

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has once again reiterated that his government’s relationship with the military was ‘exceptional’ and the Opposition’s statements regarding a rift between the government and the military were ‘dead and buried’.

    During a meeting held by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s spokespersons chaired by PM Khan, the premier said that “civil-military relations are unprecedented these days”.

    PM Khan had expressed similar views earlier as well. During an interview with a journalist, the premier was asked about rumours of a possible deal between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the establishment to send PM Khan’s government packing and whether he felt threatened in any way. The PM said he personally was not under any kind of pressure. He added that he enjoyed the support of government allies and expressed confidence that his government would complete its mandated five years.

    During the meeting with his spokespersons, the premier said that the party has presented its funding receipts to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the
    “scrutiny committee has cleared the party of all suspicions.”

    “All other political parties should provide the receipts of their funding too,” demanded PM Khan.

    He further said that out of total funding of Rs310 million, an amount of Rs150 million was shown twice.

    “This [error] will be cleared in the next hearing of the ECP,” PM Khan said.

    “Isn’t Shahbaz Sharif ashamed of himself since he used too many TTs to launder money?” said PM Khan, talking about the electronic method of transferring funds (TTs) for overseas wire transactions.

    The premier talked about the foreign fundings received by other parties and said that the “PML-N should give an account of the billions of rupees of funding it received from overseas sources.”

    Prior to this, deposed Nawaz Sharif directed his party not to let Imran Khan off the hook on the basis of the ECP report, telling them to aggressively agitate the matter and not let both houses of parliament run smoothly till “justice” is done.

  • PM Khan wants similar ECP scrutiny on bank accounts and funding of PPP, PMLN

    PM Khan wants similar ECP scrutiny on bank accounts and funding of PPP, PMLN

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Wednesday welcomed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) scrutiny of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) funding, money which he said came through donations from overseas Pakistanis.

    Taking to Twitter, the premier wrote, “I welcome ECP’s scrutiny of PTI’s funding through donations from Overseas Pakistanis. The more our accounts are scrutinised the more factual clarity will emerge for [the] nation to see how PTI is the only political party with proper donor base premised on proper political fundraising.”

    In another tweet, PM Khan said he looked forward to seeing similar ECP scrutiny on funding of the other two major political parties, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    His comments come a day after the report compiled by the scrutiny committee of the ECP noted that the ruling party had received funding from foreign nationals and companies, under-reported funds, and concealed dozens of its bank accounts.

    PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif criticising PM Khan said, “Truth has a strange way of exposing people. The facade of “Sadiq aur Ameen” has been shredded into pieces.”

    PPP Chairman took to Twitter and said, “Tax records reveal @ImranKhanPTI income increased more than 50 times since gaining power. Pakistan has become poorer but Imran is richer.”

  • PM Khan welcomes $85 million foreign investment in Airlift

    PM Khan welcomes $85 million foreign investment in Airlift

    On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan welcomed the latest $85 million foreign investment in the quick commerce startup, Airlift, by leading Venture Capitals of the world.

    “Pakistan has huge potential and we are open for business,” PM Imran Khan stated in a tweet. The prime minister further guaranteed his government’s commitment towards creating such investment opportunities in Pakistan.

    Airlift is a Lahore-based online shopping delivery service, has successfully raised $85 million foreign investment in Series B funding round, the largest single private funding round in Pakistan’s history.

    Apart from PM Imran Khan, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar also commented on the success of the private firm. He said he was “glad” to share that international investors were showing confidence in Pakistan’s evolving technology ecosystem.

    The company has set a new model for bringing world-class financers to invest in Pakistan. This will collect confidence that great technology and user products can be developed in Pakistan, and this area of the world has some of the best expertise for producing practical and innovative tech advancement. Furthermore, Airlift Express alone, with its series B funding of $85 million, has added 5 per cent to the country’s FDI for the monetary year 2021.

    Airlift runs a quick commerce service in eight cities covering Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad in Pakistan. Customers can order groceries, farm-fresh produce, other necessary items including medicines as well as sports gear from the company’s website or app and have the articles delivered within 30 minutes.

    In addition to this, using the latest foreign investment, the quick commerce startup, Airlift expects to place more offerings to its services in the near future and create nearly a quarter-million more jobs in Pakistan within the next five years.

  • New documents reveal PTI employees were authorised to receive donations

    New documents reveal PTI employees were authorised to receive donations

    In a watershed development in the foreign funding case, a documented list has revealed that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) employees were authorised to receive donations from within and outside Pakistan.

    The document, available with Dawn, revealed the names of employees that included PTI’s telephone operator Tahir Iqbal, computer operator Muhammad Nauman Afzal, accountant Mohammad Arshad and office helper Mohammad Rafiq.

    The decision to allow the PTI employees to collect the funds was taken at a meeting held on July 1, 2011. It was attended by Saifullah Niazi, the incumbent chief organiser and an aspirant of a PTI Senate ticket; Aamer Mahmud Kiani, present secretary-general and former health minister who was removed from the federal cabinet; Dr Humayun Mohmand, who was recently appointed chairman of the board of directors of PIMS; Sardar Azhar Tariq Khan, the party’s former finance secretary and now Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Colonel Yunus Ali Raza among others.

    The foreign funding case pertains to Akbar S Babar’s allegations that foreign donations were illegally received in the front accounts of PTI employees through Hundi, particularly from the Middle East, and siphoned off by the senior party leadership through cheques with no trace or record.

    Babar was a founding member of PTI. He has repeatedly asked the scrutiny committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to investigate the private bank accounts of PTI employees which were illegally used as a front to collect donations.

    The committee continues to keep the PTI records and bank statements secret despite ECP orders. The records include 23 PTI bank accounts provided to the ECP by scheduled banks on the instructions of the State Bank of Pakistan. The scrutiny committee is due to meet today (on Tuesday) to decide whether to keep the PTI documents secret or not.

    The election watchdog has passed more than one order against the secrecy of the PTI record.

  • PDM is ‘foreign-funded’ movement, says govt

    PDM is ‘foreign-funded’ movement, says govt

    As the opposition-led movement to oust the Imran government gains momentum, Human Rights Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf senior leader Shireen Mazari has alleged that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a joint opposition alliance, is receiving foreign funding.

    In an interview with Dawn News, the federal minister claimed that a lot of people who are part of the PDM have received “a lot of foreign funds”. She, however, couldn’t provide any proof.

    “If we get the evidence […] but when we receive hardcore evidence, then it will become the responsibility of the government to take action,” she said, adding that “let’s see how things unfold”.

    According to Mazari, it had come to her knowledge that that evidence was now surfacing regarding funding for the opposition alliance from abroad.

    “[I have] heard that a lot of evidence has been found that funding, encouragement is being sent. You know Pakistan has dissident groups abroad. Every country has them, dissident groups from Pakistan are also abroad, the way they are living, after all they are receiving money from somewhere.”

    A similar claim was made by the prime minister of Pakistan a couple of days, when he told a delegation of senior journalists that certain countries were supporting the PDM in its bid to oust his government, Daily Pakistan reported.

    It may be noted here that PTI is also case pertaining to foreign funding in the Election Commission of Pakistan. The ECP officials will meet on Dec 31 to discuss the audit of the PTI after multiple delayed hearings.

    Meanwhile, PDM Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, flanked by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, addressed a press conference on Wednesday. He had said that the rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on December 13 will be held “at all costs”.

  • Nov 26: News you need to know before heading to work

    Nov 26: News you need to know before heading to work

    PTI’s conscience clean in foreign-funding case: PM Imran

    • Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that the opposition was misleading the people in the foreign-funding case.
    • Speaking to his party’s spokespeople PM said, the PTI submitted all relevant details to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), noting that the leaders of two of the country’s biggest political parties made money through money-laundering.
    • Reacting to opposition’s call for APC he said they were doing so and protesting to mask their embarrassment. However, the people have rejected their protest.

    Nawaz to be admitted in hospital upon cardiologist’s advice

    • Dr Adnan Khan, has said that Professor Simon Redwood of the London Bridge Hospital had recommended hospital admission for the former prime minister to undergo angiogram followed by further intervention.
    • “Once he has gone through all haematological investigations, we will then have a clear picture of what is required next and what the exact treatment should be”, Dr Adnan added.

    Treason case: Musharraf, Govt file petition against special court’s verdict on Nov 28

    • The federal interior ministry and former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf both submitted pleas in the Islamabad High Court on Monday, requesting it to stop the special court from announcing its reserved verdict in the high treason case against the former army chief.
    • The special court, constituted to try the former military ruler for high treason, was set to announce its verdict on November 28. The IHC will hear the case on Tuesday.
    • The ministry in its plea has stated that the accusers to be tried with Pervez Musharraf were not included in the trial. The prosecution team was denotified on Oct 23, but it proceeded with the case on Oct 24 without having an authority in the matter.
  • Nov 22: News you need to know before heading to work

    Nov 22: News you need to know before heading to work

    PTI’s conscience clean in foreign-funding case: PM Imran

    • Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that the opposition was misleading the people in the foreign-funding case.
    • Speaking to his party’s spokespeople PM said, the PTI submitted all relevant details to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), noting that the leaders of two of the country’s biggest political parties made money through money-laundering.
    • Reacting to opposition’s call for APC he said they were doing so and protesting to mask their embarrassment. However, the people have rejected their protest.

    Nawaz to be admitted in hospital upon cardiologist’s advice

    • Dr Adnan Khan, has said that Professor Simon Redwood of the London Bridge Hospital had recommended hospital admission for the former prime minister to undergo angiogram followed by further intervention.
    • “Once he has gone through all haematological investigations, we will then have a clear picture of what is required next and what the exact treatment should be”, Dr Adnan added.

    Treason case: Musharraf, Govt file petition against special court’s verdict on Nov 28

    • The federal interior ministry and former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf both submitted pleas in the Islamabad High Court on Monday, requesting it to stop the special court from announcing its reserved verdict in the high treason case against the former army chief.
    • The special court, constituted to try the former military ruler for high treason, was set to announce its verdict on November 28. The IHC will hear the case on Tuesday.
    • The ministry in its plea has stated that the accusers to be tried with Pervez Musharraf were not included in the trial. The prosecution team was denotified on Oct 23, but it proceeded with the case on Oct 24 without having an authority in the matter.