PTI to challenge ECP's verdict on foreign funding case

• "Today's verdict proved that there wasn't any foreign funding case," says Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
• He adds party wants action against those who took funding from former Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden and Libya.
• Asad Umar challenges ECP to publish PTI's account details on website. 

Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Tuesday said that the party will challenge the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP's) verdict in court, using political and legal means. 

The ECP, in a unanimous verdict, said that the PTI received foreign funds from 34 individuals and 351 businesses. The donations were sent from America, Australia, Canada, and the UAE. 

In addition, PTI took funds from an American businessman, the ECP said, issuing a show-cause notice to the party. 

The PTI leader said that the party met all the criteria and submitted all the evidence to come clean. "Today's verdict proved that there was no foreign funding case. The media trial going on for years has finally come to an end today."

Qureshi said that his party has objections against the election commission for not being impartial. "We provided everything that the commission asked us to, however, it did not seek any evidence from the other parties," he added.

"We demand action against those parties that received funding from former Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden and Libya. They should also be held accountable," he said. 

The former foreign minister added that the coalition government had wished that the PTI should be nullified. However, "God once again made Imran Khan victorious and the government had once embarrassed itself", he said.

'ECP should upload PTI account details'

Former planning minister Asad Umar dared the commission to upload the account details of PTI on its website, including those of PML-N and PPP. 

Taking a swipe at the coalition government, Umar said that he wants to offer his condolences to those who were hoping that the PTI would be banned and who were waiting for the PTI's politics to end. 

"We have revealed all the accounts mentioned by the ECP," said the former minister.

"The commission has mentioned Khan's false affidavit. The Political Parties Act 2002 mentions a certificate and not an affidavit," he said, adding that the ECP has violated the Supreme Court's verdict."