Imran targeting ECP due to foreign funding case: Marriyum

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb Wednesday hit back at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan over his persistent onslaught against the Election Commission of Pakistan, alleging that former premier and his ministers, while in government, had openly flouted the ECP laws, orders and regulations.

Reacting to the PTI leaders’ criticism, she said Imran Khan was targeting the Election Commission because of the foreign funding case pending a decision with it currently. At the same time, he was also making requests to the ECP.

The ECP had reserved its judgement in the widely-discussed foreign funding case a few weeks back, which was filed in Nov 2014. She said Imran and his ministers openly violated the ECP law while in government, and threatened the Commission. She pointed out that on the one hand, there is the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, which bows to the law, electoral regulations and Election Commission orders. The PMLN ministers resigned to honour the Election Commission orders as they were law-abiding people.

“Imran Sahib and his party, on the other hand, are threatening and abusing the Election Commission even today, as if they are (still) in power,” she alleged. Marriyum said that Imran sahib considered himself to be the law; he did not consider himself subject to the law and he was abusing and threatening the Election Commission every day.

“Allegations of election fraud are Imran Khan's prior admission of his defeat. Imran sahib is a vote thief; he does not act as a defender of the vote. Bye-elections have not yet been held and Imran sahib's mourning has begun,” she added.

The minister said Imran sahib and his ministers continued to campaign in bye-elections during their tenure. She advised ex-premier to respect the law and drew his attention to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who cancelled his planned visit, after the Election Commission issued an order in this context recently.

She reminded the PTI chairman how he had campaigned in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir elections in violation of the Election Commission orders. “Imran sahib your ministers were caught red handed distributing money, announcing development schemes and rigging in the election campaign,” she noted.