What’s new in the Financial Times report, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry asked while reacting to the English daily newspaper which revealed that Pakistani financial bigwig Arif Naqvi financed Imran Khan’s party through exhibition matches at his country estate in the Oxfordshire village of England.

“PTI’s cases do not come either in prohibited or foreign funding,” he told Aaj News. “The information about the Wooten cricket club, which was mentioned in the story, is already available with the Election Commission of Pakistan.”

Fawad had joined the news channel to speak on the English daily newspaper and views of former ECP secretary Kanwar Dilshad, who claimed that there was no difference between prohibited or foreign funding.

The report, which claimed to have the financial documents to substantiate the claim, said the cricket event happened before the 2013 elections in which Imran Khan was a contender.

The London-based daily’s report says that the event was the type of charity fundraiser and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was the ultimate benefactor. It added that fees were paid to Wootton Cricket Ltd, a company owned by Naqvi, that was used to financially support PTI.

“There is a big difference in prohibited and foreign funding cases,” Fawad retorted while lambasting Dilshad’s stature. He claimed that the former ECP secretary was not worthy and lacked information.

Dilshad had told Aaj News that an investigation could be conducted against the party or its head if they hide facts.

Fawad was bewildered by the coalition government’s apparent unbiased attitude towards overseas Pakistanis.

He claimed that the incumbent government was trying to malign expatriates through propaganda to not fund the PTI after taking their right to vote through amendments to PTI’s electoral bill.

“This is the way of funding in the whole world,” Fawad said, “you conduct cricket matches, concerts.” He added that the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre generated Rs nine billion annually that included dinners.

“The SKMCH has spent more than Rs70 billion. Similarly, we recently made a namanzoor.com website through which we raised as much as Rs470 in five days. So PTI does funding in this way,” he said, reiterating that funding was done in this way in the whole world.

The former information minister was of the view that there was nothing new in the Financial Times story, adding that the money from Wooten Cricket Club was declared.

“We received this money and we said we did this, so what is new in it? Pinpoint something in it and I will answer,” Fawad said.