Imran Khan faces opposition ire over foreign funding

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Prime Minister Imran Khan is likely to face a mounting attack from the opposition as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) have indicated that they will corner Khan on certain issues. Apart from the deteriorating economic conditions Khan stands accused of illegally accepting funding for his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from foreign countries.

The PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has demanded that the foreign funding case against Khan be made public. He pointed out that one of the PTI members had levelled a serious allegation that PTI has been a foreign-funded party. “Unfortunately, whether it is the court or the election commission, the truth has not been put forth before the people,” he told reporters in Islamabad.

Seeing an opportunity to score some brownie points the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of the 11 opposition parties, has planned to protest outside the office of Election Commission of Pakistan on January 19. Bilawal said they will demand that the foreign funding case be taken to its conclusion and all the facts of the case be made public.

The case dates backs to November 2014 when Akbar S Babar, a founder member of the PTI, has alleged that there were major financial irregularities in the party’s accounts. His allegations were about illegal sources of funding, concealment of bank accounts in Pakistan and abroad, money laundering, and using private bank accounts of PTI employees as a front to receive illegal donations from the Middle East.

The PDM has demanded Khan’s resignation by January 31. Bilawal and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz are among major leaders who have said that they will send the Imran-led government packing. They have organised several PDM rallies in Peshawar, Gujranwala, Karachi, Quetta, Multan, and Lahore since October 16, 2020. 

Also Read: Imran faces heat over killing of Shia Hazara community in Baloch

However, Bilawal has made it clear that his party will only use constitutional and democratic means to remove the government as he wants to “establish the democratic rule”. Bilawal so far has failed to build consensus among opposition parties to bring a no-confidence motion against Khan.

Imran’s close friend loses jobs in two weeks

In a jolt to Prime Minister Imran Khan his close friend, Naeem Bokhari had to step down as chairman of state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) within two weeks of his elevation to the coveted post after an order by the Islamabad High Court on January 15.

The federal cabinet under Khan had appointed Bokhari replacing Amir Manzoor so that the PM’s friend could run his agenda. The Islamabad High Court suspended Bokhari from continuing his work as PTV chairman, citing a Supreme Court judgment that had barred people over 65 years old from being posted to senior posts. 

The judgment has come as an axe for two other PTV directors along with Bokhari as all of them are above 65.

Coming true to Khan’s expectations Bokhari, soon after assuming the charge of PTI, had announced that the PTV would not permit the opposition equal access to the airwaves. “This is state TV,” he had told a journalist, suggesting the channel would serve as a mouthpiece of the government without any dissent tolerated.

This is for the second time that the court had to interfere in the PTV appointments. In 2008, the Supreme Court had taken suo motu case of Ataul Haq Qasmi’s appointment as chairman of PTV and ordered the federal government to appoint a full-time managing director after fulfilling all legal, procedural and codal formalities strictly by the law. It had said people over 65 could not be appointed to the post without clear reasons for relaxing the upper age limits.

Pakistan in dire need of gas as the provider backs out

The Dubai-based Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) has backed out of its commitment to provide LNG cargo leading to a possible gas crisis in Pakistan. The company had won an LNG cargo contract for delivery on February 23-24 with the lowest bid at 23.4331% of Brent (equal to $11.70 per MMBTU) but in the latest communication, it said it would not be able to provide the LNG cargo to Pakistan.

As Emirates has shown its inability to execute the contract Pakistan’s gas crisis is likely to escalate. The cost of LNG in dollar per MMBTU in the open market has soared by over 100 per cent and the government suspects ENOC has sold the LNG cargo meant for Pakistan to another country or party at an expensive rate.

The ENOC will lose its contract deposit of $300,000 after the bid is not respected. The company could afford to lose such big money as it could have sensed a big profit in dealing with some other customer than the Pakistan government.

At $32.494/MMBTU, it was the highest LNG benchmark for Asian spot LNG since it was launched in early 2009. The current Brent crude price in MMBTU is around $9.7/MMBTU at a conversion rate of 5.8 MMBtu per barrel.

There is also uncertainty over whether the other LNG trading company, SOCAR from Azerbaijan, was committed to its bid to provide LNG cargo slated for delivery on February 15-16. This company may also back out from the deal considering the price hike in the open market.

The Pakistan government has claimed that the development would not heighten the gas crisis in the country as around eight cargos have been arranged for February supply. They are banking on an LNG supplier Vitol, which was defaulted in December 2020 by providing half of the cargo instead of a full vessel to Pakistan.