Islamabad (LTN NEWS): Minister for Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Tuesday that the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) verdict “blatantly” showed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan benefited from illegal foreign funding.
At a joint press conference, he and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said that it was a landmark decision that would be a turning point in the country’s political history. This decision was made by the ECP after an eight-year process.
“We’ve been saying for a long time that there should be one law for everyone, and thank God, the PTI leaders have come to the same conclusion because they’ve been hurt while making this demand,” he said.
The minister said that when the PTI was in power, it put its opponents on trial with only one side of the story.
He said, “Imran Khan, the foreign agent, who got money from Americans, Britons, Canadians, Indians, Israelis, and others, has been calling his rivals foreign agents.”
He said that the decision would have effects in the long run. He also said that PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for not declaring just Rs10,000 and that the National Assembly members were disqualified for not declaring just Rs40,000.
Khawaja Asif said that the people in charge of the PTI praised the courts when they ruled in their favor and criticized them when they ruled against them.
He said that Sikander Sultan Raja had been put forward as a candidate for the job of chief election commissioner. He said that former Defense Minister Pervez Khattak gave him a piece of paper in the parliament with his name on it.
“I was there when Sikander Sultan Raja was chosen as CEC. After getting the message from Khattak, we agreed to his name after consulting with the rest of the party.”
He also said that Imran Khan was wrong when he said he had nothing to do with Raja’s nomination.
Khawaja Asif said that Imran Khan had done something to hurt the very foundations of the country.
“Nawaz Sharif was kicked out of the race because he didn’t take Rs10,000 from his son, and Imran Khan got millions of dollars from abroad,” he said. After the ECP’s decision, the minister said, the government would now start to hold him accountable.
Khawaja Asif was saddened by the deaths of Corps Commander Quetta Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ali and five other officials who were in an army helicopter that crashed on Monday while helping with flood relief.
He said that Lt. General Sarfaraz was a great officer who had a long and successful career and that the country had lost a great man. “Both we and our party feel bad for the families of the dead. We owe them a lot for what they did, and remembering what they did is a great way to honor them.
