PTI chief Imran Khan said on Monday that after the surfacing of audio leaks allegedly featuring conversations between key figures in the coalition government, Chief election commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja should resign from his post.<\/p>\n
Addressing a gathering at Government College University (GCU) in Lahore, Imran said the audio leaks had made it apparent that CEC Raja was a \u201cservant of the Sharif household\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the audio leaks, \u201cNawaz is telling him [CEC] who should be disqualified and when to hold elections,\u201d the former premier said.<\/p>\n
After the audio leaks, the CEC should resign if he has even an ounce of shame, he said. \u201cBut he doesn\u2019t [have any shame], so we will have to make him resign.\u201d<\/p>\n
Audio recordings of purported conversations between key government figures \u2014 including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz and some members of the federal cabinet \u2014 discussing governance matters privately surfaced over the weekend, prompting concerns over the security of the Prime Minister\u2019s Office (PMO).<\/p>\n
PML-N leader Talal Chaudhry on Sunday had said the government was taking the leaks \u201cvery seriously\u201d, however, he stopped short of denying the veracity of the audios.<\/p>\n
The content of the recordings, which appear to be informal conversations in the PM Office \u2014 as opposed to recorded phone conversations \u2014 has not been denied or disputed by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, who instead insisted that these only showed that \u201cnothing illegal had happened\u201d.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Imran also alleged that the CEC had blocked the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) on the instructions of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept on trying to introduce EVMs for three years [\u2026] But this man, on the instructions of Nawaz and Zardari, who rely on false votes, did not allow EVMs,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n
Turning his guns on Maryam, the PTI chief referred to one of the audio recordings purportedly featuring a conversation between PM Shehbaz and an unidentified official about the possibility of facilitating the import of Indian machinery for a power project that was linked to the PML-N vice president\u2019s son-in-law.<\/p>\n
Lambasting the PML-N, particularly PM Shehbaz, Imran said that his government had ended trade ties with India after New Delhi had revoked occupied Kashmir\u2019s special autonomy in August 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are still no ties, but Maryam\u2019s son-in-law [intends] to procure machinery from India,\u201d Imran continued, adding: \u201cAnd what is prime minister cherry blossom\u2019s response? He suggests that they bring the machinery via another country instead of telling them not to import it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
He further claimed that PM Shehbaz had also assured Maryam\u2019s son-in-law that he would not face any obstacles in constructing a grid station worth Rs700 million at one of his housing societies.<\/p>\n
He was told that the grid station would be \u201cfinanced by money from the Pakistani taxpayers\u201d, the PTI chief claimed.<\/p>\n
He continued that in the coming days, there would be more \u201cepisodes\u201d in audio leaks saga.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am hearing that a [recording] will surface where Maryam will tell abba jee [Nawaz] that the election commission has said they will disqualify Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case and that there is no need to worry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the [state of the] election commission.\u201d<\/p>\n
Responding to Imran\u2019s comments, Maryam said that strict action should be taken against the GCU vice chancellor for \u201cdesecrating an educational institution by lending it to a fitna and organising his jalsa on the premises\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing a seat of learning for political hate-mongering is a crime that should not go unpunished,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PTI chief Imran Khan said on Monday that after the surfacing of audio leaks allegedly featuring conversations between key figures in the coalition government, Chief election commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja should resign from his post. Addressing a gathering at Government College University (GCU) in Lahore, Imran said the audio leaks had made it apparent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-285777","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n