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Pakistan’s FIA constitutes team to probe PTI funding case

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan (India Narrative_IANS)

Pakistan’s Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that PTI used overall 16 bank accounts that were not found on the records, reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) constituted a six-member team to probe into Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI’s) prohibited funding case.

This investigation came a few days after the three-member Election Commission of Pakistan bench in a unanimous verdict ruled that the PTI received prohibited funding in the case pending since 2014, ARY News reported.

 Director Amna Baig will be leading the investigation team and four employees that were nominated in the ECP report were included in the initial investigation, according to sources.

The employees who recorded their initial testimonies to the FIA include Muhammad Rafique, Tahir Iqbal and Muhammad Arshad.

The concerned authorities have expanded the scope of the probe against PTI in the prohibited funding case. A five-member special monitoring team was formed by the intelligence agency.

The monitoring team will coordinate with the zonal inquiry team in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta and Faisalabad, reported ARY News.

On August 4, the Pakistan government decided to file a disqualification reference against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan after the verdict of the prohibited funding case and the federal cabinet accepted the recommendation.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan (Image: Twitter@ShkhRasheed)

Pakistan’s Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said in her press conference that the PTI used overall 16 bank accounts that were not found on the records. She alleged that PTI used donations to the charity as party funds and an inquiry will be conducted into it.

“For the first time in Pakistan, a political party is declared a foreign-funded party. The accounts of the PTI secretariat employees were used for foreign funding,” she added.

Aurangzeb said that PTI was declared a ‘foreign-funded party’ in light of the ECP verdict, according to ARY News.

On August 2, The ECP in its unanimous verdict on the “prohibited funding” case, on Tuesday, said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had received the prohibited funds and issued a show-cause notice to PTI.

The Commission found that the donations were taken from 34 countries in fundraising. These included America, Australia, and the UAE, Geo News reported.

The ECP also said that the PTI had taken funds from an American businessman.

In its verdict, the ECP observed the ‘unknown accounts’ and said that hiding accounts are a “violation of the Constitution”.

Maryam Aurangzeb

Moreover, it found that PTI Chairman Imran Khan submitted a false Nomination Form I.

The ECP decided to issue a show-cause notice to the PTI to explain why the commission should not seize the funds it received.

According to the publication, the ECP, Monday, released the cause list for the case. The cause list showed that the verdict would be announced by a three-member bench led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, who arrived early in the morning at the office. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Speculation on Pakistan’s role in Zawahiri drone strike

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Ruckus in Punjab Assembly; Police arrest PTI lawmakers

Police enter Pak Punjab Assembly, arrest lawmakers for creating ruckus.

The Assembly met on Saturday to elect the new chief minister, however, the session turned violent as soon as it began, reports Asian Lite News

In an unprecedented move, police entered the hall of Pakistan Punjab Assembly and arrested at least four Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members for attacking the deputy speaker and creating ruckus, media reports said.

Videos from inside the assembly hall show police force in riot gear trying to remove members from the hall who had stalled the House proceedings, Samaa TV reported. These are the members who attacked Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari.

The Assembly met on Saturday to elect the new chief minister, however, the session turned violent as soon as it began.

PTI members brought ‘lotas’ with them which they hurled in the Assembly hall. As Mazari arrived on the dias to chair the session, PTI members hit him with ‘lotas’.

Mazari was even slapped by the members after which he was escorted by the serjeant-at-arms.

After the violence, anti-riot force that was positioned in the Assembly premises entered the Assembly hall. However, they were later made to leave after PTI members objected to their presence.

According to the single-point agenda issued by the Assembly secretariat, the voting for the new chief minister will be held on Saturday.

Hamza Shahbaz of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) is up against Pakistan Muslim League-Q’s (PMLQ) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

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Pak opposition begins march to counter PTI rally

The PTI, meanwhile, is preparing Islamabad’s Parade Ground for its grand rally on Sunday, with thousands of its supporters having left for Islamabad, reports Asian Lite News

The opposition parties in Pakistan have started their march towards Islamabad in an attempt to counter a planned rally by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz workers leaving from Lahore and Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl activists starting from Dera Ismail Khan, Samaa TV reported.

The PTI, meanwhile, is preparing Islamabad’s Parade Ground for its grand rally on Sunday, with thousands of its supporters having left for Islamabad.

Pakistan Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry claimed that tens of thousands of PTI supporters are already on their way to Islamabad.

The presence of a large number of rival political workers and a possibility of a showdown between them has sparked concerns among Islamabad authorities, who have declared an emergency at Islamabad hospitals while hospitals in Rawalpindi have also been put on alert, Samaa TV reported.

The capital city administration has decided to seal the red zone besides issuing a traffic plan.

The Pakistan Peoples Party, meanwhile, has advised the Opposition against holding rallies in Islamabad, saying a clash would allow Imran Khan political “martyrdom”.

The PML-N’s march is led by Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz Sharif and is scheduled to arrive in Gujranwala on Saturday night. A large number of PML-N workers gathered in Lahore’s Model Town on Saturday afternoon, before leaving for Islamabad using the Grand Trunk (GT) Road.

ALSO READ: Imran’s trump card has ‘nothing to do with army’

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Imran fights for survival as 50 ministers go missing

More than 50 of the federal and provincial ministers have not been seen in public since the opposition began stacking up perils against Prime Minister Imran Khan, reports Asian Lite News

As the crucial no-confidence motion inches closer and uncertainty continues to shroud political alliances, at least 50 ministers belonging to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have gone ‘missing from the political front, Express Tribune reported.

More than 50 of the federal and provincial ministers have not been seen in public since the opposition began stacking up perils against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Sources shared that out of these ministers, 25 happen to be federal and provincial advisers and special assistants, while four of them are ministers of state, four advisers and 19 special assistants.

The odd development comes as the deafening silence of many PTI ministers is feeding the speculation that by holding their tongues – much like the allies – the ministers might be weighing other options as they await the right time, The Express Tribune reported.

However, at the federal level, the embattled Prime Minister continues to enjoy vigorous support.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, Minister of Defence Pervez Khattak and Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed are among the most vocal stalwarts who continue to propagate the government’s narrative, putting themselves at the forefront in Khan’s defence.

However, a large number of federal and provincial ministers and cabinet members remain conspicuous for their absence in times of trouble.

ALSO READ: Bajwa gives up on Imran

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Nawaz intensifies war against Imran over hidden foreign funding

Maryam Nawaz. (Photo: Twitter/@MaryamNSharif)

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed his party workers to not let Imran Khan off the hook after ECP report had emerged, reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz has advised Prime Minister Imran Khan to be ready, as the “time for accountability has come.”

Maryam’s remarks came after PM Imran Khan’s statement regarding the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) report, which revealed that PTI has hidden foreign funding worth millions of rupees. Khan welcomed the investigation by the ECP’s scrutiny committee, which has reportedly revealed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) allegedly failed to disclose millions of rupees to the ECP, according to News International.

Taking to her official Twitter handle, Maryam questioned why did he [Imran Khan] not let the case proceedings continue for the last seven years.

“Why did you [Imran Khan] keep hiding for so many years and then kept begging that the report should not be released?” she questioned.

Pakistan’s ruling party PTI headed by the Prime Minister is under scanner after a report compiled by the ECP on its funding.

(Image Credits: ANI)

The Election Commission of Pakistan’s report stated the PTI provided ‘false information’ regarding the party’s funding. It’s said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) statement revealed that the party had received Rs 1.64 million in funding.

Imran Khan had earlier said that the more their accounts are scrutinized, the more factual clarity will emerge for the nation to see how the PTI is the “only political party with a proper donor base premised on proper political fundraising”.

On the other hand, Imran Khan mentioned that he was looking forward to seeing similar ECP scrutiny reports on the funding of two other major political parties, PPP and PML-N.

Don’t let Imran off the hook: Nawaz Sharif

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed his party workers to not let Imran Khan off the hook after ECP report has emerged.

“Do not let (prime minister) Imran Khan off the hook as he has been caught red-handed while stealing money through the party’s foreign funding. His so-called honest image has completely been shattered and he should be exposed before the nation,” Nawaz told a party meeting, which was attended by its central and Punjab leadership, including Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, in Model Town here on Thursday via video link, reported Dawn.

He told the party members to not allow both houses of Parliament to run smoothly until “justice” is served.

Imran Khan mentioned that he was looking forward to seeing similar ECP scrutiny reports on the funding of two other major political parties, PPP and PML-N.

According to a party member, Nawaz Sharif told PML-N leaders not to let the subject die down until it reaches its natural conclusion.

Nawaz Sharif, who has been in the UK for ‘medical treatment’ since November 2019, urged the participants to expose Prime Minister Imran Khan’s alleged fraud on all platforms.

The PML-N supreme leader, Shehbaz Sharif, has been told to begin convening workers’ conventions at the district and divisional levels in Punjab, in order to mobilise party members ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM), planned an anti-inflation march on Islamabad in March.

“Don’t let the National Assembly, Punjab Assembly and Senate run smoothly, and aggressively agitate this matter in which the true face of Imran Khan has been exposed,”, he was quoted as saying.

“We don’t have to allow an easy escape to ‘the selected’ on this matter,” he maintained.

According to a party source, taking the case to court was also discussed, but no decision was reached. “The party will first see what action the ECP takes,” he said.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

“Nawaz Sharif also directed the party leadership to gear up for a decisive anti-inflation march on Islamabad proposed by the PDM in March. For this purpose, the former PM said workers’ conventions should be held at the district and divisional levels and also re-organisation of the party completed at the district level at the earliest,” an insider said, reported Dawn News.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has also scheduled a long march against the PTI government in Islamabad on February 27. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Sharp increase in food prices pushes inflation up in Pakistan

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Fissure Within Imran’s Party Widens

Imran’s hybrid regime is crumbling

This was a defeat that Imran Khan had feared but not expected in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa since his relationship began to sour with the military establishment early this year, reports Asian Lite News

The internal rift in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is widening especially after party’s defeat in local elections of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.

Amid these cracks in the party, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Higher Education Minister Kamran Bangash has served a legal notice to his own party leader Arbab Mohammad Ali for accusing him of selling ticket of Peshawar city Mayor to a businessman, media reported.

The KP minister on Tuesday had served a legal notice on Ali after he was accused of selling ticket of Peshawar city Mayor to a wealthy businessman and receiving 20 million Pakistani rupees out of the total amount, 70 million Pakistani rupees, according to The News International report on Thursday.

ALSO READ: Imran’s hybrid regime is crumbling

Ali is the brother of PTI MNA from Peshawar, Arbab Sher Ali and cousin of Arbab Shehzad, advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Establishment.

He had applied for the PTI ticket for Peshawar Mayor seat but the party didn’t consider and instead gave the ticket to an Abu Dhabi-based businessman Rizwan Bangash, India Blooms reported.

Kamran Bangash (Credit: Twitter/Kamran Bangash)

Later, Ali released a video alleging that some senior PTI leaders including Governor Shah Farman and Higher Education Minister Kamran Bangash had sold party ticket to Rizwan Bangash for Rs70 million.

However, Rizwan lost the Mayor poll to the joint candidate of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazlur Rahman (JUIF), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP).

According to The News International, though there were multiple factors behind Rizwan’s loss but disunity of the PTI leadership and particularly the role of the party’s elected representatives were major reasons.

Crack in PTI, Army relations

The defeat of PTI in local elections of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa shows a clear sign of crack between the military establishment and the ruling party.

Khan’s ascendancy to the Islamabad throne was made possible by the army, especially Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI and is often referred to as the hybrid regime showed signs of crumbling after the resounding defeat of PTI, reported The Singapore Post.

This was a defeat that Khan had feared but not expected in KP since his relationship began to sour with the military establishment early this year.

But the army quietly looked the other way and let the pins fall on the PTI candidates. This is the second round of the battle between partners of the hybrid regime.

In a first, Imran Khan had shown the military down by deliberately delaying the announcement of the appointment of ISI chief. The Army chief wanted a change in who heads the ISI early this year. The army declared Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum as the new ISI chief whereas Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, who had helped Imran Khan to win the electoral battles on behalf of the army, was moved out as Peshawar corps commander.

Imran Khan sat on the Army chief’s recommendation till rumours and conspiracy theories became thick enough to be cut with a blunt knife. Khan mulled all the options–to reject the army chief’s recommendations or to accept them. He chose the third option–delay the official declaration. It showed he was no longer in the same books as General Javed Bajwa.

The army took the insult and kept quiet, reported The Singapore Post.

The army played its hand in the KP elections. There could be many reasons for the PTI to get such a drubbing on the ground, but one remains the key to the game, the army’s decision to stay off any of the tricks which it deployed in the 2018 elections. This ‘hands off’ policy left PTI candidates to fight on their own and lose badly.

Protest over national security policy

Senators belonging to the Opposition parties in Pakistan resorted to protest on Wednesday over the governments decision to bypass the Parliament in the making of the National Security Policy (NSP) approved earlier this week, Express Tribune reported.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman said the government did not present the draft of the security policy in the House. The PPP leader said the policy that has been approved is nothing but a piece of paper that is contrary to the ground realities, the report said.

She further criticised the government over a Bill that provides complete autonomy to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in line with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demands. Sherry asked what sort of security is the government talking about when the IMF is dictating the economy, and the SBP is being sublet.

Imran Khan (Photo IN)

The PPP Senator’s speech was interrupted by a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator, Mohsin Aziz, who advised her to get straight to the point instead of making a speech. Rehman took offence to the remarks and staged a walkout in protest.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Moeed Yusuf had announced on Tuesday that the federal cabinet has approved Pakistan’s first-ever National Security Policy (NSP).

“It is a truly historic achievement; a citizen-centric comprehensive National Security policy with economic security at the core will now be pursued in earnest,” the NSA said in a tweet.

A day earlier, it was reported that the National Security Committee (NSC) approved the NSP 2022-2026, which aims at bolstering the country’s economic security and tackling external as well as internal challenges. (with inputs from IANS/ANI)

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THIS KHAN IS NOT WORKING

Instead of getting down to tackle these tremendous challenges, Imran Khan has been more busy tongue-lashing his own diplomats, squabbling with his country’s staunch supporter in Saudi Arabia, suppressing media outlets and making millions of minorities in his country feel as infidels … writes Dr Shariq Khan

It took only thirty-odd months for Prime Minister Imran Khan to sink in the quicksand of eroding public confidence in his capability to steer Pakistan through one of its most challenging times. Pakistan is today faced with an economic meltdown, worst-ever global perception, serious internal conflicts and a raging epidemic.

Instead of getting down to tackle these tremendous challenges, Imran Khan has been more busy tongue-lashing his own diplomats, squabbling with his country’s staunch supporter in Saudi Arabia, suppressing media outlets and making millions of minorities in his country feel as infidels.

It was known for some time that the Prime Minister had lost the script and was acting more like a ventriloquist’s doll. Recent events show that he was being abandoned by his patrons in Rawalpindi as well.

The latest broadside against him has come from within his own party–one of his erstwhile confidant, Jahangir Tareen, has fallen out with him and has decided to form a breakaway group, raising questions about the legitimacy of his government to rule. Although Tareen has since denied breaking away from PTI, the claims and counterclaims indicate a rift within Imran Khan’s party which could undo the government faster than a yorker.

A more visible dissonance can be detected in Khan’s relationship with army chief General Javed Bajwa. Bajwa has been instrumental in putting Khan in Islamabad and has since chaperoned his protege out of trouble on numerous occasions. During the peak of the economic crisis, Bajwa stepped in himself to encourage the industry leaders to invest in Pakistan. He placed one of his confidants in the CPEC management to ensure steady progress of the ambitious project with China. At the diplomatic level, Bajwa and his team have been moving, at quick intervals, to sort out the mess created by Khan or his Foreign Minister. Be it Saudi Arabia or the US, it is Bajwa who has been acting more like a premier than the elected one.

Imran Khan and his government see Riyadh as a stumbling block in the way of Pakistan’s rise as an Islamic power. For the moment, Bajwa has managed to smoothen the ruffled feathers in Riyadh but is obviously miffed at taking on new troubles on behalf of the government.

Now, even Bajwa seems to be tired of showing his protege where to go. This has been nowhere else evident than in the case of India. In March this year, Bajwa made it public that the army was thinking of diverting some of its attention from India to more urgent problems like the economy and Afghanistan. It was therefore important, he made it known, that a semblance of  peace be maintained with India. It is not clear how well or how much did the General tell his Prime Minister. Going by what happened afterwards, it became clear that at least Khan and his ministers did not get the full import of what the General had imagined. They saw a booming trade with India and made a loud sound about it, only to do a quick u-turn. The Foreign Minister went one step ahead and made utterances which were no less than blasphemous in Pakistan.

More retractions followed. Then there is the case of Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Khan, in collaboration with his friend in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been advocating a new Islamic bloc to counter Saudi Arabia’s leadership of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC). Bajwa and the army, on the other hand, are keen to keep Riyadh happy and trusting–the relationship is too deep and long to be abandoned at this crucial hour, at least for the army. Imran Khan and his government see Riyadh as a stumbling block in the way of Pakistan’s rise as an Islamic power. For the moment, Bajwa has managed to smoothen the ruffled feathers in Riyadh but is obviously miffed at taking on new troubles on behalf of the government.

On the political front, the army has a different playbook than Imran Khan. Shahbaz Sharif is the elephant in the room. The younger Sharif has been close to the army and last year when he was tested Covid positive, Bajwa had personally called him to enquire about his health. For all his failings, Imran Khan will not be an easy pushover but, as the public humiliation of the diplomatic community showed, he could tie himself in knots. That could prove to be his final undoing.

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