Islamabad [Pakistan]: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is targeting the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and provoking federal ministers to “frontally attack” the election commission. As per reports, PM Imran Khan had asked federal ministers to back Fawad Chaudhry, Minister for Information and Azam Swati, Minister for Railways during their election commission hearings who were served notices by the ECP after they levelled serious allegations against the constitutional body, reported Geo News. “Imran Khan’s advice to his ministers to ‘support’ two of their cabinet colleagues is a provocation to frontally attack Election Commission,” said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif. “He is targeting ECP at a time of massive internal and external challenges. He cannot be allowed to browbeat our institutions into submission,” Shehbaz added. Shehbaz Sharif said that PM Imran Khan “cannot be allowed to browbeat our institutions into submission”, reported Geo News. Swati had accused the ECP of taking money from companies that make electronic voting machines during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee for Parliamentary Affairs on September 10. Meanwhile, Chaudhry had said that the ECP has “become the headquarters for Opposition parties” and the chief election commissioner is “acting as their mouthpiece”, during a press conference the same day. The ECP served notices to Chaudhry and Swati on September 16, seeking explanations within a week from both the ministers for accusations against CEC Sikander Sultan Raja and the commission.
