KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday said veteran journalist and former caretaker chief minister of Punjab, Najam Sethi, was not just involved in ‘35 punctures’ as he had previously alleged but had done "much more than that."

Talking to reporters at Karachi airport, Khan said, “He [Sethi] has done much worse than that,” adding that Sethi was involved in "70 punctures".

Khan went on to say that his source of information for the ’35 punctures’ conversation— Murtaza Poya and Dr. Ejaz— had not denied the allegation either.

“Nawaz Sharif rewarded Najam Sethi for his services and made him PCB chairman twice,” the PTI chief said, repeating his previous claims.

The story of ’35 punctures’

According to the PTI chief and his loyalists, on election night (May 11, 2013), Najam Sethi called PML-N party chief (and the current prime minister) Nawaz Sharif and assured him that the “35 punctures” had been fixed.

The phone conversation, according to Naeemul Haq, chief of staff to the PTI chairman, who was the first one to tweet about it, came from an ambassador of a key western power.

Take a look: The story Of ‘35 punctures’.

While Sethi has categorically denied the allegation and has threatened to sue Imran Khan for defamation, the tale took an interesting turn a couple of days ago when Imran Khan in an interview said his ’35 punctures’ statement was political talk.

This resulted in debates on social media and on TV channels on whether the PTI was justified in presenting political rhetoric as fact and if the allegation was true, why the PTI did not present it before the inquiry commission investigating rigging in the May 2013 general election.

There was also some confusion within PTI’s own ranks regarding the allegation, with Arif Alvi publically stating the PTI should apologise for its unfounded allegations, while Jehangir Tareen not only criticised Alvi for his apology but also said that the PTI will not back down from its claims.

Know more: Confusion within PTI ranks over '35 punctures' allegation.

Responding to a question about MQM, Imran Khan said former RAW chiefs had not denied allegations that they funded MQM.

He said if the MQM could pursue a legal case against him, they should do the same as far as the BBC was concerned.

Khan also criticised the Sindh government for “record levels of corruption.” He said Zardari had left for Dubai in fear after his anti-army comments at a party event in Islamabad.