PTI President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi on Thursday alleged that representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union routinely visit party chairman Imran Khan at Adiala Jail while the interim government dismissed the claims as a “figment of imagination”.

Elahi made this statement while speaking to reporters at Lahore’s Special Court (Central). Elahi’s lawyer, Amir Saeed Rawn, confirmed to Dawn.com that the PTI president had made the statement.

The PTI president — who is also being held at Adiala — was brought to the court in connection with the hearing of a money laundering case against him.

During the conversation with reporters, Elahi said that Imran was held in a cell adjacent to his. “Representatives from the EU and the IMF visit Imran, and the party chief is poised to secure an unprecedented number of votes when polls are held,” he added.

“We are standing with Imran and will continue doing so.”

He stated that the date for the upcoming elections was announced in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directives, asserting: “There will be no rigging in these polls.”

Without explicitly mentioning the names of former premiers Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, Elahi said that two “laadlas” (favourites) had purportedly been “imposed” on the nation.

He said the PDM government led by Shehbaz Sharif had led the country into severe inflation, adding that they should recognise their diminishing vote bank in Punjab.

He hoped that people would not allow the Sharif brothers “to rig the ballot this time”.

He rejected all charges against him, denouncing them as baseless and unfounded.

Meanwhile, interim Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, “There is not a single grain of truth in this fantasy and it is truly nothing but a figment of imagination by the senior politico.”

Speaking to Dawn News’ Adil Shahzeb, Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that no such meeting had taken place. He said that IMF or EU officials would never meet with a convict.

Money laundering case

Meanwhile, Elahi appeared before Magistrate Tanveer Ahmed Sheikh in a money laundering case, during which the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) counsel sought to designate Elahi’s son, Moonis Elahi, as an absconder in the case.

The FIA said that non-bailable arrest warrants had been issued for Moonis; however, his arrest had not been executed so far.

The counsel urged the court to declare Moonis as an absconder, facilitating law enforcement agencies in pursuing his arrest through Interpol.

After the arguments, the court adjourned the hearing till Nov 30.

Illegal appointments case

Subsequently, Elahi was brought before another local court concerning a case involving unauthorised appointments in the Punjab Assembly.

Following the completion of his two-week remand in the case, investigators presented Elahi before the court.

The judicial magistrate extended the PTI president’s judicial remand by 14 days, adjourning the hearing until Nov 30.

The PTI President has been arrested at least 12 times in various cases since the start of June and after a statewide crackdown was launched against the party in the aftermath of the May 9 violence.