Election Commission of Pakistan disqualifies former PM Imran Khan on charges of concealing assets

Agencies | Islamabad               

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com  

In a major legal victory for the ruling coalition government in Islamabad, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), in a consensus verdict on Friday, disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan and ruled that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman is no more a member of the National Assembly.

The ECP stated that Khan submitted a false affidavit and found involved in corrupt practices, Geo News reported.

Rejecting the ruling, PTI leader Fawad Chauhdry said that it is an attack on 220 million Pakistanis.

The verdict was announced amid tight security in the capital city’s Red Zone where at least 1,100 police officials were deployed under the command of a senior superintendent of police to control the law and order situation in the area.

The officer was assisted by five superintendents of police, six deputy superintendents of police.

Geo News reported that the law enforcement agency was given teargas shells in case the party workers launch a protest.

According to a notice, the ECP had ordered all the relevant parties or their counsels to appear before the commission at its secretariat.

Legal experts had widely interpreted the ECP decision as Imran being disqualified till the end of the current National Assembly (NA) term.

As such, he has been de-seated as a member of the NA and by-polls could be held on the seat vacated following his disqualification.

However, one of Imran Khan’s lawyers, Gohar Khan, told AFP that the ECP “has declared Imran Khan was involved in corrupt practices”, adding he had been disqualified for five years.

“We are going to challenge it in the Islamabad High Court right now.”

The poll body had reserved its verdict in the Toshakhana case on September 19 after arguments were completed from both sides. A five-member bench of the ECP, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the case.

During the last hearing of the case, which took place on September 19, Khan’s counsel Ali Zafar admitted that his client had sold at least four presents he had received during 2018-19.

“The gifts were sold for Rs58 million and their receipts were enclosed with the income tax returns filed by my client,” the lawyer apprised the ECP.

He maintained that Khan has provided the gifts’ details up to 2021 in the written reply submitted to the election body, Geo News reported.

“The ECP conducts scrutiny if the body has doubts on any details but in this case, the election body did not raise any objection,” argued the PTI lawyer.

In 2019-20, Khan received gifts worth 1.7 million PKR, the lawyer told the ECP. An ECP member asked about the source of income for procuring the gifts from the state treasury. At this, the lawyer said that he will not give the details to the Commission.