Pak Poll body issues show-cause notice to PTI, may put Imran's leadership in danger

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 3 : The show cause notice issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on prohibited funding to PTI is likely to put Imran Khan's leadership in danger as the funds received by the PTI Chief from foreign countries including the US, UAE, Australia and UK could lead to several numbers of cases against the party.
The move by ECP came right after it was revealed that the money received from the foreign countries was used by Khan to fund PTI and he made false declarations in 2018 before the elections, The News International reported.
The ECP decision, which is based on hard facts about the sources of prohibited funding carries the potential to trigger constitutional, criminal and civil cases against the PTI and its leadership.
Moreover, the party is proven to have received the funds after the withdrawal of its election symbol, disbandment of the PTI and disqualification of Imran Khan, these are being discussed by political and legal circles as obvious cases emanating from the ECP decision.
The ECP decision may land PTI in extreme trouble as it can also lead to the framing of criminal cases involving money laundering, unknown bank accounts and receipt of funds from nationals of enemy countries, etc. against the PTI leadership.
According to the ECP, each certificate certifies that the PTI was operating as per Pakistani statutes and made a declaration about the accounts for the source of its funds as mandated under Article 17(3) of the Constitution.
"Being head of the Political Party and as Chairman it was obligatory on Mr Imran Khan to ensure that all the disclosures and submissions are made to the Election Commission strictly in accordance with the laws. On the basis of records available before us, this Commission is constrained to hold that Mr Imran Khan failed to discharge his obligations as mandated under the Pakistani Statutes," the ECP added.
As per the ECP, there are two bank accounts among those not declared by the PTI, opened at the request of Imran Khan himself but not declared before the ECP. One of these accounts was a USD account, opened in a Pakistani bank branch in Islamabad on the request of Imran Khan with the account title of PTI. From this account, an amount of USD 51,750 was withdrawn and an amount of USD 51,750 was deposited, The News International reported.
While, on the other hand, the second account was a rupee account opened in the HBL Islamabad Civic Centre branch at the request of Imran Khan. From this account, an amount of Rs84.141 million was withdrawn and an amount of Rs86.890 million was deposited in this account.
The ECP in its decision issued a show-cause notice to the PTI, as to why the prohibited funds may not be confiscated as confiscation of the prohibited funds is the domain of the ECP.
The foreign funding case is pending since November 14, 2014, and it was filed by PTI founding member Akbar S Babar who had alleged that there are some financial irregularities in the PTI's funding from Pakistan and abroad.