ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz has said that opposition parties instead of holding a sit-in in front of the Election Commission of Pakistan should better submit documentary proof of their foreign funding in order to avoid cancellation of their registration.

Talking to reporters on Monday, he said the Pakistan Muslim-League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) did not heed to repeated directives of the ECP scrutiny committee to submit documentary proof in the foreign funding cases filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, which might result in forfeiture of the funds received from abroad, besides cancellation of their election symbols.

Flanked by Parliamentary Secretary for Railways Farrukh Habib, the minister told the media that the leadership of the three parties should reply to the questions asked by the ECP regarding their foreign funds, instead of hurling threats of sit-ins.

Mr Shibli said governments in the 1980s had totally destroyed the country’s moral facade, consequently the people (at the helm of affairs) no more differentiated bet­ween the modes of earnings — right or wrong and they did not consider corruption as a crime.

He said the PML-N and PPP governments with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman hands in glove had changed politics into a business and in blatant disregard for moral values their office-bearers right from prime minister to ministers became involved in corrupt practices.

The minister said the political parties needed funds for carrying out routine activities. Prior to the entry of PTI into politics, all the political parties, including the PPP and the PML-N, used to get donations from various criminals and mafias, and paid them back in kind of favours and protecting their interests after assuming power. Later, their leaders also used various accounts for laundering and whitening their black money, he added.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2021