Pakistan Opposition attacks Imran Khan for false information on funding

Opposition parties have lambasted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for reported non-disclosure of millions of rupees in election funds, as brought to light by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the ongoing foreign funding, Friday Times reported.

The report, issued by a scrutiny committee of the ECP, indicated that PTI provided "false information" about their funding to the constitutional body.

A bank statement from the State Bank of Pakistan showed that the party received Rs 1.64 billion in funding, of which more than Rs 310 million remained unreported and unaccounted for, according to the report.

A chorus of members from various opposition parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), condemned the ruling party's concealment of funds and called for immediate further investigation.

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In a statement, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that Imran Khan, "not only stole and hid but also plundered the pockets of the people and indulged in their hard work and hard earned money."

PDM spokesperson Hafiz Hamdullah released a statement reiterating that the ECP's findings, "revealed the theft of Imran Khan and PTI".

"The scrutiny committee has exposed the true face of the PTI before the nation (...) Imran Khan and PTI, who accused others of theft, turned out to be thieves themselves," Hamdullah said, the report said.

The ongoing foreign funding case against PTI was filed in 2014 by the party's founding member Akbar Babar.

In the original filing, Babar alleged significant financial irregularities, including illegal sources of funding, hidden bank accounts in Pakistan and abroad, money laundering, and the use of private bank accounts to receive illicit funds from the Middle East.

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