The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Thursday sought from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) a soft copy of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s address to supporters on April 26 where he had lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, calling him a ‘planted agent’ of the PML-N. “Raja has lost all his credibility and should immediately resign,” Imran had said in a speech to party leaders and lawmakers at the Chief Minister House in Peshawar.
“He has no reason to remain as the CEC anymore. An umpire is always independent. When the country’s biggest party doesn’t have confidence in him, it’s time for him to resign,” he added. The PTI chief had warned of countrywide protests if Raja did not step down as CEC and urged supporters to start a campaign to collect signatures on an online petition against him, says a news report. On Wednesday, ECP Additional Director General Haroon Khan Shinwari wrote to the PEMRA chairperson, seeking a soft copy of Imran’s address which was aired on television. He also sought soft copies of speeches made by the PTI leaders Khurram Sher Zaman, Haleem Adil Sheikh and Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry the day Imran’s remarks were broadcast.
In the letter, Shinwari communicated to the PEMRA chairperson that he had been directed to seek the footage and requested him to “provide recordings of the aforementioned addresses immediately for placing before the Hon’able Commission (ECP)”. The ECP’s request to the PEMRA has been made in the wake of growing PTI criticism of the ECP, and particularly CEC Raja, over what Imran and his cohorts allege is his biased conduct. During this period, the ECP has also been conducting hearings into the PTI’s foreign funding case.
