The Electoral Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 ruled that the political party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan received millions of dollars illegally from foreign countries, including the US, UK and Australia.
The decision could lead to a ban on Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which CNN has reported has played a major role in the anti-corruption campaign. In contrast, there was no immediate comment from Khan, who analysts say fell out with military authorities over the appointment of the head of the ISI ahead of his dismissal earlier this year. At the same time, a PTI spokesman denied any wrongdoing.
The decision, seen by Reuters, said: “The Committee acknowledges that the defendant received contributions and donations from prohibited sources.” The committee said the party had also hidden 13 accounts, adding that a statement made by Khan to the party finance committee as head of the party from 2008 to 2013 “turned out to be grossly inaccurate.” The committee said the party was a “willing recipient of illegal funds” of $2.1 million from Wootton Cricket Limited, a Naqvi subsidiary registered in the Cayman Islands. The commission identified several more foreign accounts in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Switzerland and other countries that carried out transactions on the accounts of Khan’s party.
In this regard, the decision of the election commission was transferred to the government of Pakistan, which, according to legal experts, may require the Supreme Court to ban Khan and his party from politics. In 2017, the court ordered the committee to review the party’s accounts. “We will appeal this decision,” Khan’s party spokesman Fuad Chaudhry told reporters. He added that the money was received from Pakistani citizens living abroad, which is illegal.
Khan was prime minister from 2018 until April of this year, when he was forced to resign after losing a vote of confidence he claimed was the result of a US conspiracy. The United States denied this.
