File photo of PTI founder Imran Khan
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, currently Incarcerated at Adiala Jail, on Wednesday claimed he fully endorses a statement issued after the 263rd Corps Commanders’ Conference seeking strict action against those responsible for the May 9 riots.
In an informal interactions with journalists at the prison, Khan said the culprits should be identified through CCTV footage, lamenting no one appeared interested in an independent and fair probe into the violence. “The May 9 narrative could not work for Feb. 8 [elections],” he maintained, alleging three political parties had benefited from electoral rigging. “Neither are we [PTI] anti-Army, nor do we want a clash with forces,” he maintained.
Criticizing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for depriving his party of its share in reserved seats, he described the ruling as “unconstitutional” and contrary to democratic norms. He also questioned the legal basis for allocating those reserved seats to parties that were not entitled to them.
Recalling his 2013 protest against alleged rigging, Khan demanded the audit of four constituencies—the Lahore constituencies of Nawaz Sharif and Aun Chaudhry; the Peshawar constituency of Noor Alam Khan; and one Karachi constituency—to “prove” rigging.
The former prime minister stressed he would never accept the results of the Feb. 8 elections, as this would be tantamount to “accepting slavery.” He said the PTI would stage a “massive” public gathering in Peshawar—where it is in government—against alleged rigging on Sunday and urged the rest of the country to also take to the streets. “We want to hold a peaceful protest against the rigging,” he said. “Peaceful protest is the right of every party in a democracy,” he added.
Claiming the “controversy” surrounding the Feb. 8 elections would have a severe impact on the economy, he said the country could not survive without political stability. He noted that 70 percent of the country’s revenue was being spent on returning interest and debt. “I wrote a letter to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] because economic stability is impossible without political stability,” he stressed, referring to the letter in which the PTI has urged the global lender against lending any further funds to Pakistan without an audit of the election.
Khan claimed the PMLN were solely relying on the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) for its future politics, adding it could not attract foreign investment.