Pakistan: Imran Khan renews demand for judicial inquiry into May 9 riots

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 27 (ANI): Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan reiterated demand for a judicial inquiry into the May 9 violence and the alleged rigging in the February 8 elections, Dawn reported.
The PTI founder also urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to hear the petitions filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). He urged Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to set up a judicial commission to probe the matter.
Khan renewed his call for a judicial probe into alleged rigging while speaking to journalists after attending a court hearing in the alleged corruption case involving 190 million pounds.
The former PM said the establishment was using the May 9 violence as a pretext to dismantle his party in accordance with the 'London plan'.
"The culprits could have been identified through CCTV footage, but these have been stolen. Those behind the footage theft were responsible for the May 9 episode," the PTI chief said.
He alleged that the closure of cases related to the Sharif family and President Asif Ali Zardari was "part of the London plan," Dawn reported.
Massive protests erupted on May 9 last year after Imran Khan's arrest in connection with a graft case. The situation turned severe with protestors attacking the military installations.
The February 8 general elections in Pakistan were deemed controversial. Imran Khan-founded PTI and several other parties alleged internet shutdowns, massive rigging, and a lack of a 'level-playing field'.
The former PM further said the PTI would not consider the Senate elections as legitimate because the National Assembly was "a product of rigged exercise" in the first place.
On the hearing in the US Congress on the cipher controversy last week, the PTI founder said it would have been a 'disaster' for the Biden administration had Donald Lu, the US diplomat, stated that Washington supported the ouster of his government.
He claimed that Asad Majeed, the former ambassador in Washington, had informed the National Security Committee about the 'threatening tone' of Donald Lu.
"Lu did not disclose facts before the Congress hearing since it would have been damaging for the Biden administration," Khan added.
The former prime minister said he was not responsible for the security of ciphers as a protocol was in place for the safekeeping of secret documents.
The PTI founder also rejected the Election Commission of Pakistan's investigation into allegations of rigging, saying that the ECP cannot carry out an "impartial probe" since it had itself conducted the exercise, Dawn reported. (ANI)