Imran Khan demands suspension of Pakistan parliament speaker

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani cricketer-turned- politician Imran Khan today said that the speaker of the national assembly should be suspended to allow a fair probe into his allegations of rigging in the 2013 polls.

Khan lost to speaker Ayaz Sadiq from the ruling PML-N in Lahore during the 2013 general election but has challenged the verdict in an election tribunal which is investigating the charges.

The PTI chief today met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan to discuss the issue of rigging.

"I have urged the CEC that the speaker should be suspended till investigation into the alleged rigging is completed," he said after the meeting.

Khan has been protesting against the alleged electoral fraud in 2013 which he says robbed his party of victory in many constituencies. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's PML-N has rejected the charges.

Khan led an over two-month protest campaign in the capital with supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) last year to force Sharif to quit while demanding an impartial probe into the alleged poll rigging.

The two sides are wrangling to appoint an independent commission to probe the charges but have so far failed to agree on a solution.