Imran Khan on Monday targeted the chief of the Election Commission of Pakistan and announced that he will file a Rs 10 billion defamation suit against him for destroying his reputation by disqualifying him, as the ousted premier addressed his supporters at the start of the fourth day of his long march.
Khan has announced that his objective was to gain Haqeeqi Azadi (real freedom) through the march to Islamabad which in his words was possible if free and fair elections are held immediately.
Khan, 70, was earlier this month disqualified from membership of the current National Assembly by a five-member panel of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which was headed by its chief Sikandar Sultan Raja.
“Sikandar Sultan, I will take you to court … so that in the future, you do not destroy anyone's reputation on someone else's instructions,” Khan said while addressing PTI supporters at Kamonki at the start of the fourth day of his long march.
He alleged that the ECP's decisions against him in Toshakhana and prohibited funding cases were given on the instructions of the incumbent “imported government”.
“You (Sikandar) are friends of thieves and action will be taken,” he said.
According to Pakistan's law, any gift received from dignitaries of a foreign state must be put in the state depository or the Toshakhana.
The former prime minister had earlier announced that he would file a defamation case against Raja. The former premier made the announcement while speaking to a private news channel.
“I will file a defamation lawsuit against CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja in Toshakhana reference and foreign funding case,” Khan said in an interview and reiterated his demand for free and fair elections in the country under the new ECP chief.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief also said he would back out himself if any allegations against him in the cases were to be proven true.
"Whenever courts against me prove that I have done an illegal thing, I will not wait for the court's decision to be issued and will back out on my own," Khan said.