‘Somewhere else’ dictated ECP verdict: Imran

Ex-PM says We were given false assurances regarding general elections during the long march,

ISLAMABAD:

 

Terming the prohibited funding case’s decision "wrong", former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Friday that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) received the verdict from "somewhere else".

"We did not conceal any kind of funding [from the ECP]," Imran said during a meeting with senior journalists and anchorpersons at his Bani Gala in Islamabad.

The former premier said that his party did not indulge in anything unlawful. Founder of the Dubai-based Abraaj Group Arif Naqvi, he said, did not do any illegal funding, adding that the questions being asked after a law was changed in 2017.

"They bring Shaukat Khanum accounts to me... I am not aware of what is happening in each and every account. We have not hidden any accounts," he added.

Hitting out at the ECP, Imran said that it gave the verdict against the PTI eight times and later, the courts corrected them. "Fundraising is done in the same manner all over the world. If any money has come to the party which should not have come then the maximum that can be done is to confiscate that money," he added.

Read more: PTI directly benefited from foreign funding: FT

Admitting that appointing Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja was a "critical mistake", the ousted prime minister said that he was told that Raja was acceptable to both sides and he would not do any injustice.

The PTI chief further said that he has no fear of being disqualified. "In Toshakhana [case], everything is declared... we're not in any danger because of it. They will not be able to finish our party as public movements cannot be quashed like that."

He also questioned why only PTI's funding case's verdict has been announced, demanding to issue the verdicts of the PML-N and the PPP be announced soon. "Both of them should give an account of the funds they got in their accounts."'They tried to arrest me'Imran Khan said that during the long march, he was given false assurances regarding the [general] elections. "When the date of the long march approached, I was told to delay it and at the same time, they tried to arrest me," he added.

The former prime minister said that there was no dispute with the army and there was no disagreement over any appointment. He said that the new army chief should come from within the institution on merit.
Reiterating his stance over the snap polls in the country, he said that it was in the interest of Pakistan to hold early and immediate elections. "The solution to the country's problems lies in a strong government coming in and finding solutions to these problems," he further said.