Screengrab of P.M. Shehbaz Sharif’s national address
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce its judgment on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s “foreign funding” case, stressing that the “free pass” for Imran Khan must end.
“I urge the Election Commission of Pakistan to announce the long-delayed judgment on PTI foreign funding case,” he said in a posting on Twitter. “For long has Imran Niazi been given a free pass despite his repeated and shameless attacks on state institutions. Impunity given to him has hurt the country,” he added.
The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader’s statement follows his party’s defeat to the PTI in by-elections for the Punjab Assembly. Of the 20 seats being contested, the PMLN won only 4, while the PTI won 15 and an independent candidate won the last one, according to unofficial results.
The “foreign funding” case against the PTI has been pending since 2014 and been subject to numerous delays, primarily from the PTI’s lawyers. After seven years of hearings and an investigation, the ECP concluded the case last month, on June 21, and reserved its verdict. However, despite the passage of nearly a month, there has been no indication on when the ECP expects to release its verdict.
According to a report submitted by an ECP scrutiny committee during the investigation, the PTI hid funds worth millions of rupees from the electoral body. It claimed that the PTI had provided “false information” regarding its funding to the ECP, adding that the State Bank of Pakistan’s bank statement revealed that the party had received Rs. 1.64 billion in funding of which Rs. 310 million were not disclosed.