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    <title>Aaj TV English News - Pakistan</title>
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    <language>en-Us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright 2026</copyright>
    <pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 07:08:02 +0500</pubDate>
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      <title>ECP reserves verdict in PTI’s prohibited funding case</title>
      <link>https://english.aaj.tv/news/30289967/ecp-reserves-verdict-in-ptis-prohibited-funding-case</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reserved its verdict in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s prohibited foreign funding case.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A three-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja heard the case on Tuesday in which Babar’s financial expert Arsalan Wardak presented his arguments.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The party did not deny funding from a UAE company worth $49,000 and other funds from the UK, he argued.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The details of donors who funded the party from Norway, Canada, Finland, New Zealand and Australia in 2013 were not revealed, Wardak added.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At this Raja said the PTI had submitted details in the commission later.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Wardak argued that the PTI had concealed 11 bank accounts worth Rs57 million, but later the party confirmed that the accounts belonged to it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The party also did not submit details of the companies established abroad for funding of the party, he added.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The PTI’s lawyer raised objection on the financial expert’s arguments and said he did not rebut any facts presented during the hearing of the case.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;CEC Raja said he would ensure justice with all parties and restore confidence of voters in the election process. “Democracy is vital for the country. It should be strengthened.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Later, the commission reserved verdict of the case.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Details of the case&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;In November 2014, Akbar Sher Babar, one of the founding members of the PTI, moved the ECP and accused that the party had received foreign funding&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;He sought action against the PTI in accordance with related constitutional provisions&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The PTI received more than $7.3 million funds from 12 countries in at least 12 suspected bank accounts from 2009 to 2013.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The PTI approached the Islamabad High Court six times to delay verdict of the case. It also challenged authority of the commission.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The PTI changed nine lawyers during hearings of the case that lasted seven years and seven months.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Supreme Court ordered an audit of the party’s funds from 2009 to 2013 as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Hanif Abbasi filed a case in the apex court in 2018 against the PTI.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A scrutiny committee was formed in March 2018 to investigate the suspected accounts.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;After conducting 96 sessions, the panel submitted a report in the commission in August 2020.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The ECP dismissed the initial report.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The committee submitted a final report in January 2022.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The election commission conducted at least 100 hearings of the case.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
</description>
      <content:encoded xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><![CDATA[<p><strong>ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reserved its verdict in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s prohibited foreign funding case.</strong></p>
<p>A three-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja heard the case on Tuesday in which Babar’s financial expert Arsalan Wardak presented his arguments.</p>
<p>The party did not deny funding from a UAE company worth $49,000 and other funds from the UK, he argued.</p>
<p>The details of donors who funded the party from Norway, Canada, Finland, New Zealand and Australia in 2013 were not revealed, Wardak added.</p>
<p>At this Raja said the PTI had submitted details in the commission later.</p>
<p>Wardak argued that the PTI had concealed 11 bank accounts worth Rs57 million, but later the party confirmed that the accounts belonged to it.</p>
<p>The party also did not submit details of the companies established abroad for funding of the party, he added.</p>
<p>The PTI’s lawyer raised objection on the financial expert’s arguments and said he did not rebut any facts presented during the hearing of the case.</p>
<p>CEC Raja said he would ensure justice with all parties and restore confidence of voters in the election process. “Democracy is vital for the country. It should be strengthened.”</p>
<p>Later, the commission reserved verdict of the case.</p>
<p><strong>Details of the case</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>In November 2014, Akbar Sher Babar, one of the founding members of the PTI, moved the ECP and accused that the party had received foreign funding</li>
<li>He sought action against the PTI in accordance with related constitutional provisions</li>
<li>The PTI received more than $7.3 million funds from 12 countries in at least 12 suspected bank accounts from 2009 to 2013.</li>
<li>The PTI approached the Islamabad High Court six times to delay verdict of the case. It also challenged authority of the commission.</li>
<li>The PTI changed nine lawyers during hearings of the case that lasted seven years and seven months.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court ordered an audit of the party’s funds from 2009 to 2013 as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Hanif Abbasi filed a case in the apex court in 2018 against the PTI.</li>
<li>A scrutiny committee was formed in March 2018 to investigate the suspected accounts.</li>
<li>After conducting 96 sessions, the panel submitted a report in the commission in August 2020.</li>
<li>The ECP dismissed the initial report.</li>
<li>The committee submitted a final report in January 2022.</li>
<li>The election commission conducted at least 100 hearings of the case.</li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
      <category>Pakistan</category>
      <guid>https://english.aaj.tv/news/30289967</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 21 Jun 2022 15:43:44 +0500</pubDate>
      <author>none@none.com (Yasir Nazar)</author>
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      <media:content url="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Fo-TOsAPnmk/hqdefault.jpg?r=160323" type="image/jpeg" medium="video" height="480" width="640">
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        <media:title>A three-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja heard the case.
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