PTI Billion Tree Tsunami & Party Funding Sources Will Be Probed
PTI Billion Tree Tsunami & Party Funding Sources Will Be Probed: On a complaint filed against PTI, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday has decided to conduct an inquiry into the alleged corruption responsible for the ‘Billion Tree Tsunami Project.
19 employees of KP’s forest division are alreayd undergoing an inquiry for the negligence of duty and financial irregularities in the ‘Billion Tree Tsunami Project’ while 60 officers have been suspended in the same case. It was anticipated that the project would hit a billion-tree goal by the end of this year. The KP government had also proclaimed that no corruption would be tolerated in the project.
In another report, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) established a committee to investigate the accounts as well as funding sources of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). ECP Director-General Law Muhammad Arshad, heading a 3 member panel has been directed to submit its report to the commission within a month. The decision was announced by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (r) Sardar Raza Khan, who headed a five-member bench which heard the foreign funding case against the PTI.
Displeased PTI leader Akbar S Babar had petitioned the ECP against PTI’s ‘illegal and foreign funding’ in November 2014. He developed differences with Imran Khan over alleged internal corruption and abuse of laws governing political funding. The counsels of all the parties in the case have been summoned to appear before the panel on March 19. The committee is to inspect all documents and evidence in the presence of the petitioner, the respondents and their lawyers, and to present a report on its findings within 30 days.
The petitioner told media sources that he hopes the PTI will not seek another stay from the high court against the order, adding that the party has been indulging in the practice of getting stays and delays from courts. The petitioner had alleged that nearly $3 million in illegal foreign funds were collected through two offshore companies, registered under Khan’s signature, and that money was sent through illegal ‘hundi’ channels from the Middle East to accounts of PTI employees. He had also alleged that the foreign accounts used to collect funds were concealed from the annual audit reports submitted to the ECP.
While addressing the media later, PTI Central Finance Secretary Sardar Azhar said the party did not receive any foreign funding nor did it hide anything in its accounts.