ISLAMABAD - The latest ECP Scrutiny Committee meeting on Wednesday ended on a stormy note when the three members of the committee walked out of the meeting when con-fronted with evidence challenging transparency of the scrutiny process by the petitioner and PTI Founding Member Akbar S. Babar.
In the last meeting of the Scrutiny Committee the petitioner’s lawyer Syed Ahmad Hassan Shah assisted by Badar Iqbal Chaudhery had demanded that the documents downloaded from the US Department of Justice about illegal funding from two companies registered under Imran Khan’s written instructions should be authenticated as per August 27, 2020 instructions of the ECP.
The committee had in writing indicated that they would pass an order on Wednesday. However, instead of deciding the authenticity or otherwise of the US documents, the committee decided to ask ECP to announce verdict and asked to continue scrutiny process of fake PTI documents.
The petitioner’s lawyer challenged the decision as without authenticating the documents, the credibility of the scrutiny process is questionable and would remain eyewash. He pointed out that authenticating evidence or fact finding is the primary responsibility of the Committee.
He questioned how anyone can consider an audit of accounts transparent when all 23 PTI bank accounts that were mostly concealed from the ECP and were on-ly revealed on SBP instructions are kept secret; besides not a single bank statement of six PTI international bank statements has been shared with the petitioner or allowed to peruse.
The petitioner Akbar S. Babar argued that the ECP orders of August 27, 2020 to authenticate each and every evidence were not being followed by the Com-mittee. He said we have already expressed our serious reservations on the transparency of the scrutiny process thru written statements filed on March 5, 2020 and August 13, 2020. He said the scrutiny process would remain an eyewash as long as the Committee does not follow ECP instructions of August 27, 2020 in letter and spirit.
Upon this, the Committee members walked out of the meeting.
Talking to the media, the petitioner Akbar S. Babar stated that the Committee repeatedly failed to conduct transparent scrutiny process. He said when the Committee admits in writing that it cannot share or allow perusal of the PTI bank statements by the petitioner under PTI pressure what good can come out of a process where the party under scrutiny is dictating terms to the Commit-tee conducting its scrutiny.
Babar stated that the only way forward is for the ECP to remand all the docu-ments from the Committee and conduct day to day hearings before the media and civil society to conclude the case.
On the other hand, the secretary information PTI Ahmad Jawad while commenting on the foreign funding case said that PM Imran Khan had already submitted the details of his assets with the Apex Court of the country.
He stated that Imran Khan for the first time in the history of the country had introduced the political finance system in the country; adding that PTI had submitted all the details of their assets and funding and then it was the turn of the opposition parties to submit details of their assets and funding with the commission.
On the other hand ECP in its statement said that petitioner Akbar S Baber’s statement of terming the committee partial was completely against the ground reality. The commission clarified that the committee was working as per the TORs and will submit its report to the commission on merit.
Meanwhile, sources within the meeting told The Nation that the petitioner Ak-bar S Baber frequently tried to hinder proceedings of the committee at the moment when the committee started cross questions over the answers submitted by PTI to the committee.
The sources revealed that during the meeting, the petitioner Akbar S Baber said that he did not trust the committee which forced the committee to call off the meeting.
