ISLAMABAD: Ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party has decided to challenge in court an election oversight body’s judgment that declared the party received “prohibited” funds, party members said on Tuesday, as the incumbent prime minister said the ruling “chargesheets” Khan. 

The case against Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dates back to 2014 when Akbar S Babar, a disgruntled, founding member of the party, approached the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), accusing the party of receiving funds from foreign individuals and firms. Under the Pakistani law, political parties are not allowed to accept such donations. 

In the much-awaited ruling on Tuesday, the ECP concluded the PTI concealed bank accounts and received funds from 34 individuals and 351 companies based abroad. The commission recommended the seizure of illegal money allegedly received by Khan’s party from abroad. 

While PTI general-secretary Asad Umar rejected the allegations of any wrongdoing, the party’s Islamabad media head said they would challenge Tuesday’s verdict in the high court. 

“We will be filing two separate petitions in Islamabad High Court in a day or so, challenging the election commission’s verdict,” Sibghat Virk, the PTI media head in Islamabad, told Arab News. 

He said one petition will be filed for contempt-of-court proceedings against the ECP for violating an April verdict of the Islamabad High Court, in which it had directed the electoral watchdog to decide the funding case against other political parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), along with the PTI. 

“The commission has clearly discriminated against the PTI by not concluding cases of other parties with it as per the court’s direction,” the PTI official said. 

Virk said his party would raise legal objections in the second petition and urge the court to nullify the ECP verdict for being “illegal and unconstitutional.” 

“We are hopeful to get a favorable verdict from the court as we have nothing to hide. This election commission’s ruling is just a storm in a teacup and doesn’t carry weight,” he added. 

Denying the allegations of any wrongdoing by his party, Umar said many people in Pakistan deposited their money in PTI accounts, while a “huge amount” came from overseas Pakistanis to fund the party’s election campaigns. 

“They (government) wish that if we close this door, if a political party could not do politics by taking money from people, then there will be only one way left. That is the way of powerful [political] families, powerful institutions and foreign powers,” Umar said at a press conference in Islamabad. 

Khan has himself made no comment on the ECP ruling, however, he recently urged his party’s supporters to rally against the ECP in Islamabad on Thursday. 

The former premier has been criticizing the ECP since his ouster through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April, which he has blamed on the United States. Washington, PM Shehbaz Sharif and Khan’s other political opponents have denied the allegation. 

In his reaction to Tuesday’s ruling, PM Sharif said the verdict chargesheeted Khan for “violating the constitution” and “accepting foreign money.” 

“ECP verdict on PTI foreign funding case chargesheets Imran Niazi for violating the Constitution, submitting false affidavits & accepting foreign money,” PM Sharif said on Twitter. 

“Proven yet again that he is a certified liar. Nation should ponder over the implications of his politics funded by foreigners.” 

Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) think tank, said the ECP verdict could lead to further legal actions in the country. 

“ECP judgment on Prohibited Funding Case seems to be as bad for PTI as it could be,” Mehboob said on Twitter, explaining various facts the verdict had established. 

“This sets the stage for next round.” 

He said the PTI might be penalized for the irregularities identified in the ECP ruling, but it was the only party which developed and implemented an elaborate fund-raising strategy, shunning dependence on a few. 

“I wish PTI had been more sensitive to the law,” Mehboob added. 

Khan launched his PTI party in 1996. He rose to power in 2018 when his party won the general election. He, however, failed to improve the nation’s economy. 

Taking advantage of the situation, Khan’s opponents unified against him in the National Assembly and ousted him in April 2022 through the no-trust vote.