ISLAMABAD: The scrutiny committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has found that two major opposition parties — the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) — were maintaining several undeclared bank accounts.

Informed sources told Dawn that the disclosure was made during the hearing by the scrutiny committee of foreign funding cases against the PML-N and PPP on Thursday.

According to details received by the scrutiny committee with the help of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the PML-N and PPP had concealed 12 and seven bank accounts, respectively, from the ECP.

When contacted, PML-N’s counsel Jehangir Jadoon said the committee was told that whatever details of the bank accounts available had already been provided to it. He said the committee was asked to share details of any undeclared accounts it claimed the party was operating, but no details were provided. “We do not even know where the report came from,” he said, adding that the committee might be talking of the accounts that had already been closed.

Disclosure made during hearing of foreign funding cases against two opposition parties

Parliamentary Secretary for Railways Farrukh Habib later told reporters that according to data received from the SBP, the PML-N had concealed 12 bank accounts from the commission and not mentioned them in Form-1 of the ECP where income and expenditure and their sources were required to be declared.

The PTI leader said the PML-N was not providing CNICs of seven big donors. He said the scrutiny committee had identified a major difference in opening and closing balance and receipts and expenditure in comparison to information provided by the PML-N in Form-1 yearly gazetted accounts.

Likewise, Mr Habib said, the PPP had concealed seven bank accounts, including six maintained with Habib Bank Limited and one with United Bank Limited. He said the PPP was also not providing ID card numbers and other details of major donors and discrepancy was found between its opening and closing balance.

Mr Habib said the PML-N and PPP had committed crime by concealing their accounts from the ECP. He said both the opposition parties also had no details of their donors. He said it was a constitutional obligation of the parties to submit these details to the ECP.

Mr Habib claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was the only political party which properly maintained its accounts and furnished details of its donors.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Shahbaz Gill also used the opportunity to lambast the two major opposition parties.

In a tweet, he said the PML-N and PPP had concealed 12 and seven bank accounts, respectively, from the ECP.

“The scrutiny committee of the ECP has identified 12 bank accounts of PML-N. Whereas Pakistan Peoples Party concealed a total of 7 bank accounts from the election commission. Both parties have never shown these major accounts to the election commission and now they have to answer the question that from where the money was received,” he tweeted.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2021