ISLAMABAD, SEP 15 (DNA) – Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib expressed the hope that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf would also get access to PML-N and PPP accounts like Akbar S Babar was given to PTI accounts.

Talking to the media outside the Election Commission of Pakistan he said that foreign funding case was in the scrutiny committee for the past 5 years but PML-N and PPP were refraining from presenting records.

He said that like disqualified Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N should present a fake Qatari letter in this case also. He said according to the State Bank of Pakistan, 19 such accounts of PML-N and PPP came to light which were not mentioned in the statements.

Nawaz Sharif and Zardari, he said, had made billions of rupees fake transactions in the names of, ‘Papar Walas and Falooda Walas’. He said that PTI submitted some 40,000 donors’ names and 16 volumes about its foreign funding. In five years PML-N and PPP have not been able to submit even 16 pages related to their accounts, he said.

Taking a jibe at the opposition, he said he was happy to know that the opposition parties remembered the ECP today. He hoped that these two parties would appear in the foreign funding case also. The minister said that the “stamp mafia” has been opposing EVMs to continue rigging elections in future as well.

The ECP was respected as a constitutional institution and according to Article 218 of the Election Act clean and transparent elections were also the responsibility of the Commission. He said that PML-N and PPP have been in power for the last several decades but they did nothing to reform the electoral system.

The government, he said was bringing electoral reforms in the country to ensure free and fair elections, but the opposition showing obstinacy and rejected the EVMs without observing the demonstration.  The first technical meeting of the Election Commission on EVM was held on September 8 and the second on September 15 but objections were raised before those meetings.

 The objections mentioned by the ECP were also in the present system, and 27 objections were related to the capacity. He said if ECP was to issue notices, then it should also call for transcripts of speeches of all including Maryam Safdar and Maulana Fazlur Rehman. To date, he said that the opposition had done nothing except making hue and cry over proposed electoral reforms.

Farrukh said overseas Pakistanis have the right to vote under the Article 94 of the Election Act but no steps have been taken by the Election Commission to fulfil its responsibility in this regard.

About the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority, he said it was not person-specific, it was meant for media development in the country. He said there was a difference between misinformation and disinformation, it is possible to clarify or explain misinformation, but disinformation could harm national integrity. = DNA

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