Former prime minister Imran Khan Monday said that the incumbent Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja’s name was “proposed by the establishment” after a deadlock between the then government and the opposition.
He made the remarks in an informal meeting with journalists at his Bani Gala residence. According to journalists, Imran said the PTI would file a reference against the CEC, adding that the ECP had shown “incompetency” by not completing the delimitation of constituencies in time because of which early elections were delayed.
According to media reports, Imran said that the establishment had given him three options, of which he had chosen early elections. Earlier this month, he had identified resignation and facing the no-confidence motion as the other two options. The remarks came days after Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar said that it was Imran who had approached the military and that “no option from the establishment was given.”
Referring to the Toshakhana controversy, Imran said that the record of whatever gifts he had bought from Toshakhana was available and if anyone had evidence that he had committed corruption, they should bring it forward. He said that a foreign president had sent a gift to his Bani Gala residence that he had then deposited in Toshakhana. The journalists quoted Imran as saying that he bought back the gift at 50 per cent of its price. “My gift, my choice… if I wanted to make money, I would have made millions by declaring my house a camp office.”
