Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur should have avoided the photo opportunity (photo op) with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a meeting earlier this week, former PTI chief Imran Khan said on Saturday.

In an informal conversation with reporters inside Adiala Jail, Khan expressed his fear that the federal government would not release funds for the northern province.

Khan was reacting to Gandapur’s meeting with PM Shehbaz earlier this week, as the former broke ice to meet the latter in the federal capital.

According to the KP CM, the premier assured him of fulfilling all genuine demands of the province given the economic crisis. “We have to resolve all problems together,” he asserted.

The PTI founder welcomed the protest outside the International Monetary Fund Office in Washington, United States, but said that he was oblivious to the anti-army slogans.

He claimed that the number of votes his party garnered was equal to the total number of votes the remaining 17 parties received in the February 8 general elections.

Khan reiterated his demand for conducting the election audit, saying that the vote rigging allegations could have been investigated if electronic voting machines were used.

For him, the economy was “sinking” and stressed the need for strict reforms. “This government cannot run.”

Without naming PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, he said: “How can I forget if someone loots my house? The person who said give respect to vote (vote ko izzat do) has started giving respect to boot and Sharif’s family cannot live without the ‘boot’.”

It was important to have political stability in the country before seeking any loan from the IMF, he said and called for returning the “stolen mandate” to the people.

The former prime minister called for fresh elections and said that he did not trust the Election Commission of Pakistan.

He alleged that the £190 million was “cooked up” and the money was transferred from the Supreme Court to the government.

The PTI founder added that there were worse conditions in the Attock Jail and he was forced to sleep on the floor.