PTI Expresses Willingness To Work With FIA.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday questioned the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) notices to the party leaders in the wake of Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision in the prohibited funding case but at the same time signalled its readiness to cooperate with the investigator.

Senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry told a news conference that four PTI leaders had been summoned by the FIA. He, however, added that the party would cooperate with the investigation and expected that those summoned by investigation team would appear before it.

The probe kicked off after the ECP verdict in the prohibited funding case. The FIA has summoned five former ruling party leaders, including former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, provincial minister Mahmoodur Rasheed, former Sindh governor Imran Ismail, to appear before it later this month.

The FIA has formed a five-member special team, headed by Dr Athar Waheed and including Additional Director Khalid Anees, Deputy Director Khawaja Hamad, Deputy Director Chaudhry Ejaz and Assistant Director Ejaz Ahmed Shaikh.

A number of PTI leaders, including Imran Ismail, Mahmoodur Rasheed, Asad Qaiser and Seema Zia, were summoned by the FIA after the ECP ruled that the former ruling party had received millions of dollars from 351 foreign companies and 34 nationals.

'In what capacity are the party members getting summoned by the FIA,' Chaudhry asked. He explained that those summoned were not public-office-holders in 2011-12 - which according to him was the period of the prohibited funding. 'We are expected to appear at the FIA,' he added.

The PTI leader also spoke about the ECP verdict, claiming that the party had provided details of all accounts. He claimed that there were a total of 13 accounts in which Rs20 million was transferred. 'But this amount is being exaggerated as billions of rupees,' he added.

The details of these accounts have been given to the Election Commission,' he said. 'I have already said that an international account was opened and all the funding came into that. These 13 accounts are also declared and we have provided the details of each one,' he added.

Chaudhry said that the government had gone crazy over the issue of PTI's funding. Touching on the subject of former prime minister Imran Khan's disqualification, he said: 'Who will dare to disqualify Imran? You are not announcing elections because you fear he will win by a two-thirds majority.'

The former information minister...