Pakistan: Former cricket star disqualified from parliament, sparking protests

Imran Khan, former Pakistan Prime Minister has been disqualified from the parliament for five years over corruption charges. The verdict was announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday, a move likely to further inflame political tensions in the South Asian nuclear country.

There had been a heavy police presence outside the ECP office in Islamabad, fearing the decision could unleash a new wave of protests by supporters of Mr. Khan. Traffic also sealed off toward major government buildings in the capital city, which includes the office of ECP and parliament compound.

The commission said its decision was based on the grounds that Khan had made “false statements” and did show the amount he received from sealing out the gifts he received by the leaders of Saudi Arabia, and Dubai while in office. Khan was found guilty of unlawfully selling state gifts worth more than 140m Pakistani Rupees (£572,000).

According to the Pakistan constitution, a legislator found guilty of corruption or misuse of public office can be barred for up to five years. It means Khan will be ineligible to run in the next parliamentary election slated for October next year.

The case – Toshakhana scam

It was in August 2022, when Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf sent reference to the ECP under Articles 62A, 63A, and 223 of Pakistani constitution, seeking Imran Khan’s disqualification in the light of the Toshakhana scam. It was a 28-page reference, identifying 52 gift items, including some precious watches. The gifts were received between August 2018 and December 2021, and were allegedly sold in the market.

Tosha­khana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and was established in 1974. Toshakhana stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, and high-ranking officials by heads of other governments and foreign dignitaries.

Mr. Khan called the decision unfair

Khan, a former international-cricket-star-turned-politician, and his political party Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party called on supporters to come out to the streets to peacefully protest the decision.

Mr. Khan, in a pre-recorded message surfaced on social media, had urged people to come out for their rights, and called the decision unfair. Khan lamented over the decision as inequitable and said he has been in public for 50 years, and had never breached the law of Pakistan or never violated the Constitution.

“I call upon everyone to come out and this is the time for real independence. No nation gets independence on a plate, freedom always demands struggle,” Khan said.

PTI to challenge Khan’s disqualification in court

Soon after the verdict was announced, PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry condemned the decision and called on the public to come out of their homes for their rights. The verdict also is challenged in the Islamabad High Court. Just a week before Khan was banned from parliament, his party won 2/3 majority in the Punjab by-elections. “The decision to ban Khan was a slap on the face of 220 million people of Pakistan. We have just won a majority of votes in elections, and who is the ECP to come up with such a decision,” Chaudhry asked.

Several PTI leaders said that the game is not “over yet”, and they said that the Pakistani people reject this political and biased decision of the ECP against Khan. One of the key members of PTI said that the Toshakhana case against Khan is nothing but an absolute “baseless”, urging people to “watch out.”

Protests erupted in several Pakistani cities

After ECP suspended Khan, massive protests broke out across Pakistan. Protests reported in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi, Multan, Sialkot, Quetta, Faisalabad, and other towns and cities.

Women PTI supporters shout slogans against the disqualifying decision of Imran Khan on a street in Lahore on October 21. AFP

Thousands of Khan’s supporters took to the streets to protest Khan’s disqualification by election authority and police have been seen struggling to rein them. At some points police were seen firing tear gas shells to disperse the supporters of the PTI political party.

Khan’s supporters blocked the Islamabad expressway near Iqbal town and also engaged in clashes with the police. They also tried to enter the ECP building and gunshots were also reported from outside the ECP office. In northwestern Peshawar, Khan’s supporters blocked the main motorway and also set tires on fire.

In Faizabad, the protestors wanted to enter Islamabad, but faced a violent police crackdown as they started firing shells toward them. The protestors also blocked Murree Road with burning tyres.

An important PTI member Hammad Azhar posted a picture of a smiling Imran Khan, and said the picture had been taken a few moments ago. Azhar said the Khan has trust in the people as they came out to express their feelings and support to Khan all over the country.

PTI supporters burn tyres during a protest on a street in Quetta on October 21. AFP

Political crisis aimed fragile economic situation

Khan’s disqualification will indeed further aggravate the ongoing political deadlock caused by his removal from PM office in April, and now he has to go through a grueling legal battle to regain his political turf. But the political crisis emerged at a time when Pakistan is going through its worst economic situation as a result of corruption, loans and unprecedented floods, washing away millions of dollars of infrastructure. Pakistan already has $130 billion in external debt, and now asking for more loans to rebuild the country after calamitous floods uprooted 33 million people. The money will be spent on rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged or washed away by floods.

There is a huge risk that Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state, could slip into deep political instability due to the frail economic situation and now with Khan’s issue, there would be widespread protests, detrimental to Pakistan’s safety and stability.

Though no date has been set for any possible conference, French president Emmanuel Macron vowed to host a donor conference in Paris in order to help boost Pakistan’s fundraising efforts. But the failure to secure funds will further exacerbate political instability.

Khan’s cricket and political life in short

Khan was born in the northeastern city of Lahore in 1952. He soon emerged as a hero of the country’s young general when Pakistan won only the ODI cricket World Cup in 1992. All the credit went to Khan, because he was the captain of the Pakistani cricket team. He starred in five World Cups in 1975, 1979, 1983, 1987 and 1992.

Pakistan skipper Imran Khan with the 1992 World Cup in Melbourne, Australia.

Khan turned to politics in 1996 and founded the PTI, but it was not too active until 2011. But his political party gained momentum when he started communicating with the people, and holding enormous public gatherings and rallies. Khan was soon able to find a special place among the youth, who count for nearly 60% of Pakistan’s total population. In the July 2018 elections, PTI won a majority of votes and Khan was sworn-in as the new prime minister of Pakistan, more than two decades after he entered politics.

In April Khan ousted as Pakistan’s PM, blamed US

In April, Khan was removed from office after several weeks of political turmoil that culminated in a vote of no confidence, a move Khan labeled it as daylight conspiracy against him due to his independent foreign policy. Khan accused his successor Shehbaz Sharif, the army and US for his removal.

US has been accused of sending a letter to Pakistan’s army establishment and expressed its anger at Pakistan, but said Washington will forgive the country if it oust Khan from power. Khan at that time said that the US wanted regime change in Pakistan because he was pursuing independent foreign policy in relations with Afghanistan, Russia, and China. Washington denied any foreign interference.

In the history of Pakistan, no Prime Minister has completed his five-term in office, but Khan had hoped to see out a full five-year term.

Khan still commands considerable public support as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in the cities across Pakistan just hours ECP on Friday announced his disqualification.