THE scrutiny of the ruling PTI’s financial accounts and funding sources continues to bring troubling new facts to light. The party recently wrote to the Election Commission of Pakistan to ‘disown’ nearly a dozen bank accounts that had been opened by some of its senior-most party leaders, many of whom have served as public office-bearers in the incumbent regime.

In its response to questions put forth by the ECP, the party tried to evade accountability by claiming it was previously unaware of the accounts’ ownership. However, the claim that these accounts were being operated without the knowledge of the party’s finance department by individuals who lacked any authority to do so beggars belief — especially since the party says it did itself transfer funds into these accounts at some point.

Even if we give the party the benefit of doubt, this latest revelation presents serious questions regarding the PTI’s oversight and control over the donations and contributions made by its supporters. Keeping aside the question of who is providing the money, it is surely not contestable that these funds are meant for the party’s operational use? Why, then, are such large sums lying in accounts that it says it has no control over? This is as much a question for the party’s managers to ponder as it is for the general public. The PTI already has much explaining to do regarding funding allegedly provided by foreign nationals and companies, not to mention its under-reported financial statements and unexplained large transactions.

Editorial: Report on PTI funds

The ECP, too, needs to pick up pace and deliver a verdict on its scrutiny of the PTI’s accounts soon. For years, the party dragged its feet in providing records and answering questions, which prolonged the review of its finances. However, the ECP, too, seems understaffed and therefore incapable of handling an investigation of such breadth and complexity. It is clear that it needs more people and resources to monitor not just the PTI’s, but every political party’s records.

It is quite unfortunate that the commission seems to have no coordination or access to the country’s tax authorities. Given that these latest revelations point to individual lawmakers owning and operating bank accounts with significant sums in them, there ought to have been some mechanism to alert the commission about their irregular financial dealings. The yearly wealth declaration that the ECP asks all lawmakers for is largely symbolic — no one has ever been issued a notice on its basis.

Perhaps it is now time to reform election laws so that both lawmakers and their parties are held liable for providing detailed financial statements on a regular basis. Political parties are, after all, public entities whose activities affect the public good. The people have a right to demand transparency in their internal dealings, especially if the funds are coming from public sources.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2022