ISLAMABAD, Jan 18 (APP):Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said on Tuesday that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was the sole political party that attached importance to transparency in the funds collection process. Talking to media persons, he said Akbar S. Babar, apparently on the payroll of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), had been fully exposed by the findings of scrutiny committee.
It was, in fact, the storm in a tea cup as according to page 81 of the committee’s report, Akbar S. Babar could not produce any document or evidence, which could be presented in any court of law, he added. The minister said Akbar S. Babar used to claim that the PTI was being funded from India and Israel, but he could not present any proof in that regard.
Similarly, he said, PML-N leader Maryam Safdar harped on the same allegation outside the Election Commission of Pakistan many times, but she faced embarrassment when it was proved wrong as per the scrutiny committee’s report. The PTI was running its affairs in a transparent manner and the opposition’s accusations about its funds collection process proved false, he added. The PTI, he said, was a party which was equally supported by Pakistanis both at home and abroad.
Farrukh Habib asked Akbar S Babar to apologize to the overseas Pakistanis for hurting their sentiments by levelling baseless allegations. The minister challenged Maryam Safdar and Pakistan peoples Party leader Bilawal Zardari to disclose the details of their parties’ accounts. The PML-N should tell the nation who were Bhoon Das and Shujat Azeem and how many amounts they had deposited in its accounts, he remarked. Likewise, Bilawal also had to divulge give details about an account of Rs 350 million, he added.
Similarly, he said, Maulana Fazlur Rehman should also disclose as to how he had received funding from Libya. The minister requested the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to activate the scrutiny committee as soon as possible so that funding sources of all other parties, including the PPP and the PML-N should also be scrutinized. The ECP should resolve the issue as per the decision of Supreme Court, he added.
Farrukh Habib expressed the hope that the ECP would soon investigate the funding of PPP and PML-N. He said there was mention of Walton Cricket Ground, but there was nothing unusual as the friendly cricket match was played between Pakistani nationals and the money was transferred through the banking channel.
