Jailed Pak ex-PM Imran Khan unhappy with President Alvi for not ensuring elections ‘on time’: Report

Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is unhappy that President Arif Alvi did not use his constitutional powers to ensure that general elections were held within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, his sister said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after a hearing of the Jinnah House attack, Aleema said that her brother, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was upset that the President only announced a cut-off date for the elections, instead of announcing a specific date for the polls, Geo News reported.

Aleema also said that Khan, 70, was in high spirits in prison despite losing weight while in jail.

In a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) chief last month, Alvi, who was a founding member of Khan’s PTI, had suggested that as per Article 48(5) of the Constitution, the President had the authority to mandate that elections be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly.

The President's letter apparently did not live up to the expectations as the PTI wanted President Alvi to announce the exact date of the elections instead of suggesting a cut-off date to the Chief Election Commissioner.

The ECP, however, avoided comment on his suggestion and later announced that the polls would be held in the last week of January 2024.

The National Assembly was dissolved on August 9 and constitutionally, general elections should be held within 90 days but the process was delayed by the top election body due to the delimitation exercise which became mandatory in the wake of the new census held this year.

PTI party workers allegedly torched Jinnah House (Corps Commander House) in Lahore following the unprecedented anti-government protests against the arrest of Khan, 70, in an alleged corruption case on May 9.

Khan, who served as the country's prime minister until April last year, currently faces around 180 cases, many of which primarily stem from incidents that occurred following the violence on May 9.

Aleema also said the PTI chief believed that a plot was being hatched to keep him in prison in the cipher case (leakage of a secret diplomatic cable) for a longer period.

She said a petition has also been filed to provide walking space and gym equipment to the cricketer-turned-politician in the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.