The PTI acknowledged receiving money from the Cayman Islands-incorporated Wootton Cricket Ltd of Pakistani businessman Arif Naqvi on Friday after a foreign publication claimed that the donations were from abroad.
Farrukh Habib, the PTI Central Deputy Secretary Information, stated at a press conference that “all the records [related to those transactions] are available,” following a Financial Times report that claimed Naqvi “transferred three instalments directly to the PTI in 2013 adding up to a total of $2.12m,” which were of foreign origin.
The PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, received £20 million from the businessman in “bribes,” according to the PTI leader, who also claimed that there was no case brought against Naqvi or his Abraaj Group in 2012.
He commanded, “They ought to respond to these allegations as well. Naqvi also hosted a dinner for Nawaz.”
Akbar S. Babar, a founding member of PTI, filed a lawsuit alleging foreign funding of the party in 2014. Later in 2022, a scrutiny committee for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) discovered that the PTI had concealed funds worth millions of rupees from the ECP. The PTI, however, denies these accusations.
In his press conference today, Habib claimed that the party occasionally faces a “media trial” because of foreign funding.
Foreign funds are typically used to work against an incumbent government; this is not the case, he claimed. “The case against PTI is not related to foreign funding, rather it is of prohibited funding,” he said.
Habib claimed that his party established Pakistan’s funding infrastructure. He continued by saying that Pakistanis living abroad give the PTI money and send $32 billion back to their home nation every year.
He demanded that the ECP act responsibly and reaffirmed his demand that the judgments in the foreign funding cases involving PTI, PPP, and PML-N be handed down on the same day.
The PML-N and PPP, according to the PTI leader, concealed 112 accounts from the election commission and Rs3.6 million in records from the ECP, respectively.
Prior to Habib, Fawad Chaudhry, senior vice president of the PTI, defended Naqvi, who is charged with corruption in the US.
The senior vice president of the PTI urged local media not to portray “our people as villains,” as the “Israeli lobby” does not appreciate Pakistani Muslims whose influence exceeds a certain threshold.
https://twitter.com/fawadchaudhry?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1552898200549445632%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geo.tv%2Flatest%2F430447-pti-defends-arif-naqvi-govt-berates-imran-khan-after-damning-ft-report
“The Abraaj Group of Arif Naqvi grew to a $14 billion business. The Israeli lobby does not appreciate any Muslim, particularly a Pakistani Muslim, when their influence exceeds a certain threshold “.
“Why should we join a propaganda effort when we know Israel is funding it?”
Fawad stated in a separate statement that the PTI requests that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announce the decision in the funding case for the PTI, PML-N, and PPP at the same time.
\ “More than 40,000 donors’ details have been provided by the PTI to the ECP. Similar to how they support Pakistan, overseas Pakistanis also back PTI “said he.
Abbasi criticises Khan and demands transactional information.
Senior PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was speaking to the media outside the ECP office in Islamabad when he said that the government has asked the election commission to disclose the specifics of the funding that Khan’s party received so that people can see it for themselves.
“Yesterday, Arif Naqvi played a match in London, according to a reputable publication like the Financial Times. The participants were informed by Arif Naqvi that their entry fees would be donated to a good cause.”
The FT reported that the guests — who participated in Naqvi’s “Wootton T20 Cup” — were asked to pay between £2,000 and £2,500
The previous prime minister claimed Naqvi gave Rs. 55 million to PTI’s bank accounts. “However, PTI offered no evidence of those transactions.”
He also claimed that Khan’s party had received funding from American businesses with roots in Texas and California. “Khan should provide details [of transactions] going back to day one if his hands are clean.”
