Imran Khan and his cult-like following may argue that they are not as corrupt as other politicians, but the shine has gone from the ‘Mr Clean’ image. Further, it is not just a question of foreign funding but of ‘unauthorized funding’ from foreign nationals that is a bigger issue facing PTI and Imran Khan.
After eight years, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) finally announced its verdict on the PTI foreign funding case and it is a damning indictment of a party that argues on grounds of ‘Insaaf’ and demands that all politicians be ‘sadiq’ and ‘ameen.’
As author and columnist Zahid Hussain notes, “there is no ambiguity about the ECP ruling that the PTI received “unauthorized funding” from foreign nationals in gross violation of the law. The party has also been charged with misdeclaration of its sources of funding, that included business groups from the United States, Britain and some other countries.”
Further, as legal experts point out the PTI “not only received unauthorized foreign funding but also concealed the information, may be used to invoke Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution against the party chief.”
Imran Khan has also secured a first in that “it is for the first time in the country’s history that the Election Commission has indicted any political party for unauthorized funding. Other parties have also been accused of getting financial help from foreign sources, but the charges have never been substantiated.”
Earlier this year, a scrutiny committee submitted a report “highlighting the gross violation of funding laws committed by the party leadership. The party was alleged to have collected millions of dollars from foreigners, including Indian and other companies. The report was based on the record of fund transactions requisitioned through the State Bank. The report confirmed that the PTI received under-reported funds and concealed several of its bank accounts.”
Despite all this, Hussain notes that Imran Khan may not care about this verdict as “breaking the law and violating the Constitution is not a big deal for him when it comes to his own interests.”
