PTI says establishment ‘to be held responsible’ if anything happens to Imran Khan

Expressing concerns over the security of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder jailed in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, the party’s spokesperson Shoaib Shaheen said Thursday that the incumbent government and the establishment would be held responsible if anything happened to Imran Khan.

“Attempts are made to threaten and murder the PTI founder. Why do terrorists choose to target only Adiala Jail instead of other jails across the country?” Shaheen said while talking to journalists outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office in Islamabad.

His statement comes after the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed to have arrested three “Afghan” terrorists and recovered a map of Adiala Jail, a hand grenade, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from their possession.

Khan, the only prime minister to be voted out of his office, is currently imprisoned in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail as he serves several sentences in the Toshakana, un-Islamic marriage, and the cipher case.

A failed assassination attempt was also made on Khan’s life in November 2022 when he was leading an anti-government rally in Wazirabad. He sustained bullet injuries in his leg.

‘Tampering’ of records

Despite Khan not being unable to run in the elections and remaining behind bars, his party secured a sizeable number of seats in the National Assembly, and party leaders claim that their mandate was “stolen” or they would have secured an even bigger number.

In his conversation with journalists, Shaheen alleged that the average count of votes had been shown by up to 99.99% at some polling stations after “tampering” of records related to the 2024 nationwide election results which were factually “impossible.”

The politico-cum-lawyer announced that his party decided to release a “white paper” soon.

Reiterating allegations of “rigging”, Shaheen said that the party would pursue a case, on the basis of Form 45, against returning officers (Ros) involved in “tampering” of poll results’ records.

He claimed that the PTI, the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, and even independent candidate Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar were possessing “same Form 45”.

Slamming the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, Shaheen said that the current rulers will acquire another loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which would be spent on elites but all financial burden will be borne by the nation later.

To a question, he, once again, said that his party would not hold any negotiations with the “dacoits” at any cost.