Pakistan former Prime Minister Imran Khan can contest in the future general election in Pakistan, a development days after the electoral commission disqualified him from holding political office for five years.
Islamabad High Court (IHC) said that Khan “won’t face any problems” and was eligible to contest in the Kurram district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province election on October 30. The decision was announced by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah following the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) verdict in the Toshakhana reference against Khan.
Former cricket star, Khan, 70, was disqualified on Friday by ECP for hiding his assets and misleading officials about valuable gifts he received from foreign leaders while in power.
Khan was also accused of failing to disclose the proceeds of the sale of state gifts as well as making a “false statement” regarding the declaration of the sale of gifts sent to him by the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Dubai, an offense that is illegal under Pakistan’s constitution. Khan strongly rejected these allegations as politically-motivated to defame him.
The next day, Khan’s party challenged the ECP verdict, which they called “bias” in IHC, and got a clean check.
Khan dominates Pakistan by-elections
In October 17, Khan and his political party Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were able to continue his dominant electoral streak even six months after his removal from office.
With eight National Assembly seats up for grabs by-elections, in which Khan contested for seven seats and in an unprecedented move, Khan won six. Candidates of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had won the other two seats. Khan will again contest by-elections for Kurram district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on October 30.
In July, the PTI had also contested in Punjab by-polls and again proved victories, winning 15 seats out of 20, and the observers of these electoral procedures admitted that Khan still holds popularity across the country.
Khan turned populist leader
Khan, the cricketer-turned-populist leader is absolutely maintaining widespread popularity among the Pakistani people. In April, when Khan called on Pakistanis to take the streets after he alleged he was the victim of a “foreign conspiracy” after being removed from power, tens of thousands of people took to streets in his support. Khan and his government were removed through a parliamentary vote of no confidence.
Khan blamed the US, the incumbent government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the role of Pakistan’s military establishment in his downfall. The US and Pakistani officials had repeatedly rejected the allegations. Khan also demanded fresh elections, but Sharif rejected the call and said that the election will be held on due time. Pakistanis will go to polling stations in October 2023 to elect a new government.
Again on October 21, when Khan rejected electoral commission’s decision and called on the people to protest for their rights, hundreds of people went out, even in some cases clashed with Pakistani security forces.
