PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday challenged Prime Minister Imran

Khan to reveal "who funded the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) from within India,
the Middle East and the United States".

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the PML-N leader asked why the prime
minister was allegedly not disclosing the money trail of PTI's foreign funding.

Read more: Nothing to worry about in foreign funding case, Imran assures PTI

"Now the time has come when the nation is asking for receipts," he said, alleging
that the ruling PTI concealed 23 party accounts from the Election Commission of
Pakistan (ECP) and the public.

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He alleged that millions of dollars were transacted through these unreported

accounts.

Innocent overseas Pakistanis were tricked into donating funds for the party while
painting a fake and bleak picture of the state of affairs in Pakistan, Iqbal
alleged, adding that these donations were not disclosed anywhere and plundered
through private accounts.

"It was the worst robbery in the history of Pakistan's democracy," he added.

The PML-N leader criticised the PTI's conduct with respect to the foreign funding
case, saying it is involved in corruption although it accuses other parties of
being corrupt and declares itself "Mr Clean". He alleged that the PTI has been
using delaying tactics to keep the foreign funding case pending before the ECP.

Countering government spokesperson Firdous Ashiq Awan's allegation that the PML-N
was attempting to influence the ECP, he said: "We are only demanding that the
matter be resolved."

The PML-N asked the ECP to decide the matter as soon as possible, Iqbal said,
instead accusing the PTI of hindering the ECP from functioning freely under a
strategy.

"Now we have understood why the PTI created obstacles in agreement on two ECP
members' [appointment] and now they are waiting for the chief election commissioner
to retire so they can raise the point that in the absence of three of its members,
the ECP cannot run its business.

"I, being the secretary general of the PML-N, am saying on the record that we have
no unreported account," he said.

Iqbal said Prime Minister Imran claims that the PTI has nothing to worry about in
the foreign funding case but if that was so "why is secrecy being created around
the case? Why pleas in courts and the ECP to keep details of the case away from the
public and the media?"

"We demand an open trial of the case," he said, alleging that the premier, "the man
who thinks he is a symbol of honesty" wants to maintain secrecy in the case.

"The biggest robbery in democratic history has been revealed. Why don't you present
the money trail of PTI's foreign funding?" he said while addressing the prime
minister.

"You accuse others of [having] benami accounts, now 23 benami accounts of the PTI
have been unearthed. Why did you conceal these 23 accounts from the public? Where
were the donations used and why is the money concealed from the public?" he asked.

Coming to the subject of economy, he said the PTI government during the last 15
months has brought the country to the "verge of total destruction".

He accused the government of having "crushed" the economy, and cited the hike in
electricity tariff, rising inflation, declining purchasing power of people and
unrest among traders and farmers. Industries are on the course of downsizing, he
claimed.

Iqbal said that the government has halved the funding for the Higher Education
Commission (HEC) and shelved its new projects.

Despite the bleak scenario, he added, the prime minister said that the economy was
picking up. He told the government that "the reality on the ground cannot be
concealed with fake figures presented on social media."

According to Iqbal, while the government had recently announced record Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) in the country, the reality was that the government had
issued treasury bills against a record ratio of interest.