Akbar S. Babar Demands Judicial Commission to Investigate Funding of All Major Political Parties
ISLAMABAD: Akbar S. Babar, a founding member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has demanded the formation of a judicial commission headed by a Supreme Court judge to investigate the funding of all major political parties represented in Parliament.
Babar questioned the obstacles preventing the full implementation of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) August 2, 2022 decision in the PTI foreign funding case.
He urged the government to establish a judicial inquiry commission under the leadership of a Supreme Court judge to determine why the decision had not been fully implemented and what legal action had so far been taken against those found responsible.
He further demanded that the proposed commission investigate alleged foreign funding received by PTI during the subsequent five-year period from 2014 to 2019, following the findings concerning foreign funding received between 2009 and 2013.
Babar recalled that under a December 2017 Supreme Court judgment, the ECP has the authority to independently investigate the funding of political parties, even without a formally filed complaint.
Keeping national security requirements in view, he called for a comprehensive investigation into the funding of all major political parties represented in Parliament.
Referring to developments in Israel, Babar cited allegations following the October 27, 2026 elections, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly accused Israeli Arab political parties, including Ra’am and the Joint List, of receiving illegal foreign funding from Qatar and Turkey.
He also referred to reports that Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who heads Israel’s Central Elections Committee, had directed the country’s intelligence agency, Shin Bet, to investigate the allegations of foreign funding.
Drawing a comparison with Pakistan, Babar said that more than three years had passed since foreign funding from several countries, including India and Israel, was established in the case of a major political party, yet those allegedly responsible continued to remain active in politics.
He stressed the need for transparent accountability and comprehensive scrutiny of political party funding in the interest of national security and democratic accountability.
