Scrutiny committee formed to probe funding of PPP, PML-N: Asad Umar

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Tuesday said a scrutiny committee had been formed to probe funding of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N).

“The committee should be asked to submit its report. I have no doubt that when the investigation report on foreign funding of parties would be made public then the entire nation would see that the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) collected the money in the most transparent way. And when it comes to collecting money, people have blind faith in Prime Minister Imran Khan,” Asad Umar said addressing media outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office in Islamabad.

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He said the secret accounts of the PML-N and the PPP were being revealed. People should know how money was deposited in accounts of falooday walas and rabri walas, he said.

Assuring to extend full cooperation to the ECP in the foreign funding case, the minister said the PTI had complete details of its funding.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said the scrutiny committees should immediately submit their reports regarding the PML-N and the PPP to the election commission.

“Realities of the PPP and PML-N’s secret accounts should be made public,” he said.

A day ago, Farrukh Habib had said the perusal of PML-N financial documents had revealed nine accounts kept secret by the party from the ECP.

The PML-N only managed to submit bank statements of two of such accounts when it was revealed that the party kept nine secret accounts, the minister had told the media outside the ECP office here.

Sharing details of a report prepared by his party’s financial experts on secret accounts of different political parties, he had said both the PML-N and the PPP had kept several of their bank accounts secret from the national election watchdog.

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He had said the PML-N had received donations worth over Rs600 million but failed to produce record of 98 per cent. They did not have any receipt or other document to prove a source of donations. The PML-N, he had said had received donations worth over Rs400 million from 2013 to 2015.

Similarly, the PPP, he had said out of the total 12 party accounts kept nine accounts secret from the ECP in 2013, 11 in 2014 and 10 in 2015.