The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has failed to provide evidence for the funds worth around Rs450 million that it alleged to receive in the form of donations.
Under the chairmanship of Deputy Director Law, a meeting of the investigation committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was held on Wednesday, to review the financial accounts of the PML-N.
On behalf of the PML-N, advocate Jahangir Jadoon and Raja Riaz appeared before the committee. Najam ul-Saqib and Jamal Abdul Nasser were the financial experts deputed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to peruse the accounts of the PML-N.
As per the sources, the PML-N failed to provide evidence of party funds received as donations. Additionally, leads of unconfirmed transactions of millions of rupees in the party’s accounts have also emerged.
PTI, during the hearing claimed that more than Rs450 millions of PML-N party funds were not verified. The ruling party further demanded that the opposition party must present bank statements before the panel.
The sources further reveal that PML-N has yet to provide bank statements of five additional party accounts to the ECP’s panel.
The electoral supervisor in this regard, ordered that the perusal of PML-N’s accounts will continue for eight days.
It is pertinent to note that in the second phase of the investigation, the panel will begin the proceedings for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)’s accounts.
Earlier this month, a two-member bench of the commission accepted the application filed by the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib seeking access to the accounts of both PPP and PML-N, owing to the foreign funding case.
For a ‘meaningful audit’, he requested the commission to give PTI, the ruling party acess to the financial accounts of both parties. It is to note that Farrukh has alleged that PML-N had concealed seven accounts while the PPP had hidden 12 accounts from the ECP.
