The government of Pakistan is seeking to put a full ban on former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political party over an allegation that it has received funds from foreign countries which is illegal according to Pakistan legislation. A three-member Election Commission bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja announced the verdict in capital city Islamabad. The report that has dragged on for years, accused Khan’s political party (PTI) of receiving millions of dollars in illegal funds from at least 34 foreign countries, including US, UAE, UK and Australia.
Khan did not immediately react to the matter, but a spokesman from his party, has denied the allegation and said to challenge this ruling. However, PTI had openly confirmed funds were received from overseas Pakistan in a legal way. Political rift is now widened and the election commission ruling can be challenged in top court. The decision is a blow to Imran Khan as even his former aide Akbar Baber also filed an inquiry complaint, who alleged the party’s finances included undeclared foreign funding.
Political uncertainty could further loom between Khan’s party and his rival Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration which already started proceedings to ban Khan’s party from politics, a move could further strengthen Sharif and possibly drag Khan who has been calling for early elections since his ouster as Prime Minister.
Khan’s popular support and Pakistan’s future political scenario
Khan, a cricketer icon turned politician, who had ruled the country as Prime Minister from 2018 until April 2022 was forced to resign after losing a confidence vote as what he claimed was a conspiracy orchestrated by the US. Now Khan is in limbo and facing a ban from politics, and must step down from the party’s head if all the accusations come true. It could also be a huge setback from Khan’s political career as the country is set to have new elections within a few months.
Since his ouster, Khan has staged a number of demonstrators across Pakistan and called on his supporters to continue protests until his successor Sharif agrees for a new election. Khan has proved himself as an established politician and still commands considerable public support, particularly among the country’s middle classes and youth. It is not easy for Sharif to get rid of Khan in the shortest way. In Punjabi, the country’s most populous province, Khan was able to pull off a shock defeat to Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League. The Pakistan government under Sharif rule also faced difficulty in preventing Khan from holding a massive and planned rally in the capital of Islamabad and around the country.
Hundreds of his supporters took to the streets and the intensity of the demonstrations had forced Pakistani forces to carry overnight raids on his supporters across the country, and arrested hundreds of them. In one case a police officer was killed after entering a home of one of Khan’s supporters in Lahore city as a result of physical clashes turned into gunfire. Khan in that time was also accused of creating a civil war-like situation through violent protest.
Pakistan is facing political instability at a time when its currency fell more than 14% against the dollar in July, and it is the biggest monthly slide in decades. The sole reason behind the decline could be prolonging political uncertainty as well as delaying an IMF bailout.
