By Munir M Hasan, PhD
A British daily newspaper, Financial Times, released an investigation report that
has sparked a debate about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf‘s (PTI) foreign funding case.
The report has been written by Simon Clark who is a journalist and a writer. The
Story is based on a Pakistani tycoon, Arif Naqvi, who is a founder of Abraaj, a Dubaibased private-equity firm. He once owned K-Electric, the premier electric company
of Karachi. He also presided over the “Wootton T20 Cup from 2010 to 2012.
Th report has stated that in 2013, Pakistani tycoon Arif Naqvi, through Wootton
Cricket Ltd., collected millions of dollars which were later transferred to PTI’s
account. According to the report, Arif Naqvi invited cricket superstar, Imran Khan,
and other personalities to his estate in the Oxfordshire village of Wootton for this
cricket tournament. The transfer of money was made on March 14, 2013 when
Abraaj Investment Management Ltd. transferred the amount directly to a PTI bank
account in Pakistan.
Also, in April 2013, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan transferred $2
million into the Wootton Cricket account. Six days later, Naqvi transferred $1.2
million to PTI account in Pakistan in two installments.
Funding to Sharif Brothers
The report also states that Naqvi has also been affiliated with the Sharif
brothers. In 2016, when K-Electric ran into financial difficulties, Naqvi had to sell
the company for which he needed political backing. The same year, Naqvi
authorized a $20 million payment for Pakistani politicians to gain their support. The
report states that the payment was allegedly intended for Nawaz Sharif and his
brother Shehbaz.
Denial of Shehbaz Sharif and Position of Imran Khan
Sharif brothers have denied any knowledge of receiving money. In a written
response, Imran Khan said that neither he nor his party was aware of Abraaj
providing $1.3mn through Wootton Cricket. He also said he was not aware of the
PTI receiving any funds that came from Sheikh.
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ECP Investigation into PTI Foreign Funding Case
Pakistan forbids foreign nationals and companies from funding political parties.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has been probing the party’s funding
since 2014 when a founding PTI party member, Akbar S. Babar, alleged major
irregularities in the party’s finances, including in funding from outside Pakistan. It
is strange to note that while ECP has accepted the denial of Sharif brothers
receiving any money and nothing is being done against them, the case against
Imran Khan has been continuing.
My Point of View
Imran Khan established his party, PTI, in 1996. However, he was not getting any
support from any quarter. In 1997, he contested the National Assembly elections
from NA 53, Mianwali, and NA 94, Lahore, but lost on both seats. In 2009, the
unseen powers selected him as a future Prime Minister and he was able to address
a surprisingly big gathering in Lahore in 2011. In 2013 elections, Khan’s PTI could
get only 30 directly-elected seats in a house of 272 directly-elected seats. In 2018,
in spite of invisible support, he could not get even simple majority to form the
government independently.
The above explanation shows that, in 2013, Imran Khan was not powerful
enough to ask Arif Naqvi of Abraaj Group to collect money in millions of dollars for
his party, and convince Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan to donate money
for his party through Wootton Cricket. Pakistan won the cricket world cup in 1992
under the captainship of Imran Khan. Any influential person, as a fan of Imran Khan,
could have helped him and his party in raising funds soon after the formation of his
party, PTI, but this help was given in 2013 to him, 21 years after winning the world
cup and 17 years after the formation of the party. This funding to PTI in 2013 must
have been arranged by some powerful sources for a specific purpose.
In my opinion, by providing funding in millions of dollars, the aim of the
unseen powerful sources was not to help PTI financially, but it was done to use
this funding as a tool to blackmail Imran Khan whenever it was needed. The
investigation against funding to PTI will not be complete until it is known who
ordered Arif Naqvi to collect money for PTI, and convinced Sheikh Nahyan bin
Mubarak al-Nahyan to donate money for his party. Any investigation without
answer to this question will be incomplete and invalid.
