New Delhi: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday (August 8) disqualified former prime minister Imran Khan from holding public office for five years after his conviction in a corruption case last week.
A trial court in Islamabad had on Saturday sentenced Khan to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of Pakistani Rs 100,000 for allegedly concealing details of toshakhana gifts. The sentence and fine are the maximum penalty provided by Section 174 of Pakistan’s Election Act. “He cheated while providing information of gifts he obtained from Toshakhana which later proved to be false and inaccurate. His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt,” the court order stated.
Khan was arrested soon after his conviction.
He assumed office in 2018 and was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. The former prime minister, who leads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has denied the charges.
In a notification on Tuesday, the ECP cited the court order and declared that Khan had been disqualified under Article 63(1)(h) of the Pakistani Constitution read with Section 232 of the Elections Act, 2017.
“Therefore, Mr Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi is disqualified for a period of five years and is also de-notified as a returned candidate from constituency NA-45 Kurram-I,” the notification said, according to Dawn.
The PTI has said it rejects the notification for Khan’s disqualification.
Khan’s legal team has challenged his conviction in the high court, and the case is likely to come up for hearing today.
This article was first published by The Wire
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