Pakistani Election Commission Disqualified Imran Khan Former Pak PM, PTI Slams Verdict

The Election Commission of Pakistan has now disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan from the National Assembly. The PTI chief was found guilty of submitting a false affidavit relating to the declaration of the Toshakhana Gifts. 

But the election commission delivered a unanimous verdict and has also initiated criminal proceedings against Imran Khan, for what is described as Miss declaration by him. 

The ECP has also reserved its verdict in the Toshakhana Gifts case on the 19th of September, a five-member bench of the ACP headed by the Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja was hearing this particular case. That the bench was deciding upon a reference that was filed by the coalition government against Imran Khan. 

The government has contended that Imran Khan did not share the details of the Toshakhana Gifts and proceeds from their alleged sale. The reference was first submitted to the National Assembly speaker, who subsequently forwarded it to the Chief Election Commissioner. 

What is Toshakhana?

The Toshakhana is essentially a department under the administrative control of the cabinet division of Pakistan. It stores precious gifts that are given to the rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments in states and other foreign dignitaries. 

Now, according to the Toshakhana rules, gifts and other such materials received shall be reported to the cabinet division. Ever the PTI chief, while in government had been pretty reluctant to disclose details of the gifts that had been presented to Imran Khan ever since he resumed office in 2018. 

The Imran Khan government has contended that doing so, actually Jeopardizes international ties. This was even as Pakistan’s information commission had ordered a complete disclosure of details by the cabinet division. 

Later in a written reply that was submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan on the eighth of September Imran Khan admitted to selling at least four presents that he had received during his tenure as the Prime Minister. Reacting strongly after the verdict, the PTR leaders have urged the people to in fact come out of their homes against the verdict and for their rights. 

The PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry called the ECP ruling a slap in the face of 220 million people in Pakistan. He also added that just anyone cannot disqualify Imran Khan and it is only the people of Pakistan who can disqualify him. 

He also went on to allege that the verdict that was given by the court was written by Nawaz Sharif and was signed by His servants. They’re speaking alongside Fawad Chaudhary another PTI leader Shahbaz Gill said that the party will approach every forum against this verdict, adding that Imran Khan has been disqualified from just one seat and not from Pakistani politics altogether. 

Now, what Imran Khan has done is that he had taken about four of these gifts, sold them, bought them from the Toshakhana sold them outside, and then did not declare them in his tax returns for two consecutive years. And that is what this case is about. 

It was sent by the incumbent government to the Speaker of the National Assembly, and then from the speaker of the National Assembly in August of this year to the Election Commission of Pakistan. 

And after a marathon round of hearings, we saw today that the verdict came in, it was a unanimous verdict, which has declared Imran Khan ineligible and disqualified for the current term. 

And the current term is described in the Constitution as a five-year term of the assembly. So, therefore, his disqualification would be seen in retrospect from the time he became the National Assembly member number 1, number two going forward in this current tenure of the assembly, that is to continue if the elections are to be held on time until 2023 October. 

Until then Imran Khan cannot contest even by-elections. But there is a catch. And the catch is that when the election the tenure of the assembly ends, that is next year in October, that is when Imran Khan will be eligible to hold and contest elections.