PTI in trouble? ‘Corrupt, liar, conspiratorial’, Opposition hits out at PM Khan

The Opposition has heavily criticised the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan after a scrutiny committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reported that the party did not disclose millions of rupees worth of funds to the constitutional body.

Lashing out at the premier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz said Imran Khan had not only “stolen and hidden money, but also plundered the people”.

Maryam said the “constant leaks, revelations, and evidence, are more than enough to bring down the PTI, including Imran Khan.”

عمران خان نے نا صرف چوری کی اور چھپائی بلکہ عوام کی جیبوں پر ڈاکہ ڈالا اور انکی محنت اور خون پسینے کی کمائی پر عیش کی۔ پے درپے انکشافات،لیکس اور ثبوتوں کےانبار عمران سمیت پوری پی ٹی آئی کو فارغ کرنے کے لیے کافی ہیں،اتنے سنگین فراڈ اور سکینڈل تاریخ میں کسی جماعت کے نہیں آئے

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) January 4, 2022

“Has there been such a corrupt, liar, and conspiratorial ruler like Imran Khan in the history of Pakistan?” she asked.

دوسروں پر چور چور کے الزام لگانے والے کی جب اپنی تلاشی لی گئ تو اس کا بال بال چوری میں ڈوبا نکلا۔دوسروں سے فنڈ کے نام پر مال اینٹھنا،پھر اس کو عیاشی کے لیے استعمال کرنا اور چوری چھپانے کے جھوٹ پہ جھوٹ بولنا۔کیا پاکستان کی تاریخ میں عمران خان جیسا کرپٹ، جھوٹا اور سازشی حکمران آیا؟

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) January 4, 2022

PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal during a media briefing said that the scrutiny committee’s report had “washed away Imran Khan’s make up of honesty”.

“Imran Khan acts as the champion of transparency in the country, but in the foreign funding case, he is making lame excuses to stop the hearing; PTI is resorting to mudslinging to cover its own theft,” he said.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Central Information Secretary Shazia Marri, berating PM Khan tweeted, “Imran Khan talashi do (give yourself up for examination).”

عمران خان تلاشی دو! #ForeignFundingCasePTI

— Shazia Atta Marri (@ShaziaAttaMarri) January 4, 2022

Meanwhile, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry termed the report “inaccurate” and called for a public comparison of all the parties’ foreign funding so people knew where they all stood.

Fawad said that there were “two relevant transactions of Rs150m and Rs160m, which had been duplicated and therefore counted twice by the committee”.

“In the same way, Rs150m transferred from the centre to the provinces from a PTI subsidiary was also counted twice.” He said these facts would be laid before the ECP during arguments in the case.

The minister said the report showed that the PTI had 26 accounts out of which eight were inactive.

“Out of the remaining 18 accounts, eight are functional and have transactions and also show funds coming in,” he added.

He said that 10 of the accounts in question did not actually belong to the PTI, while six were subsidiary accounts, while the party has distanced itself from the remaining four.

The report compiled by the ECP revealed the party under-reported an amount of Rs312 million over a four-year period, between 2009-10 and 2012-13. Year-wise details show that an amount of over Rs145m was under-reported in 2012-13 alone.