Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Shoaib Shaheen said that the incumbent government and the establishment would be responsible if anything happened to the incarcerated party founder 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 on Thursday.
His remarks follow the recent announcement by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) regarding the arrest of three individuals labeled as “Afghan” terrorists. The CTD claimed to have seized a map of Adiala Jail, a hand grenade, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from their possession.
Khan, the sole prime minister to face removal from office through a vote, is presently detained in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, serving sentences related to the Toshakana, an un-Islamic marriage, and the cipher case.
In November 2022, during Khan’s leadership of an anti-government rally in Wazirabad, an attempted assassination resulted in bullet wounds to his leg. Despite his incarceration and inability to participate in elections, his party managed to secure a significant number of seats in the National Assembly. Party leaders assert that their mandate was “stolen,” suggesting they could have attained an even greater number.
Addressing journalists, Shaheen alleged that voting counts had been manipulated up to 99.99% at certain polling stations, a feat he deemed “impossible” without tampering with records related to the 2024 nationwide election results. He announced his party’s intention to publish a “white paper” soon.
Reiterating accusations of electoral “rigging,” Shaheen stated the party’s intent to pursue legal action, based on Form 45, against returning officers (ROs) involved in tampering with poll result records. He claimed that the PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, and independent candidate Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar all possessed the “same Form 45.”
Shaheen criticized the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, predicting another loan acquisition from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which he suggested would benefit elites while burdening the nation financially.
In response to a question, he reiterated his party’s stance of refusing negotiations with “dacoits” under any circumstances.
