The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday adjourned till December 15 the hearing in a reference seeking the disqualification of Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan and PTI General Secretary Jehangir Khan Tareen. Imran Khan submitted his reply before the Commission and, according to him, it rejected all the accusations mentioned in the reference.
The reference sent by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq stated that Imran Khan had made misstatements about his Bani Gala property. In his assets declaration, Khan had declared that he received the property as a gift, whereas he had actually purchased it from his ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith.
In his reply to the reference submitted to the ECP, Khan said it was agreed in 2002 that the Bani Gala house would be bought with a sum of Rs 43.5 million. As per the contract, it was decided that the house would be bought on instalments. In the initial deposit, Rs 6.5 million were paid and it was mutually agreed that rest of the amount would be paid after the sale of the London flat.
He further added that there was a danger of contract's cancellation due to a delay in the remaining payment. Therefore the amount was paid by his first wife Jemima Khan, he said. As the money was transferred to Pakistan through legal channels; therefore, the allegations of tax evasion are baseless. Meanwhile, a five-member bench heard the reference seeking disqualification of PTI leader Jehangir Tareen. The petitioner's lawyer urged the Commission to summon the record submitted by Tareen with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).