AMN / NEWS DESK
Pakistan’s Election Commission (ECP) on Friday disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding public office for five years in the Toshakhana case for hiding proceeds from the sale of gifts he received from foreign leaders.
After the consensus ruling by a four-member bench headed by the Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman cannot become a member of the Parliament for five years.
The bench of Pakistan’s top election body unanimously ruled that Khan was involved in corrupt practices and was disqualified as a member of the parliament. It also announced that action would be taken against him under the corrupt practices laws.
The decision came days after Khan’s party earlier this week swept the crucial by-elections, winning six out of eight National Assembly seats and two out of three provincial assembly seats.
The ECP after hearing the case had reserved its judgment on 19th of September on the conclusion of the proceedings.
PTI’s Secretary General Asad Umar announced that the decision would be challenged in the Islamabad High Court.
The ruling coalition government lawmakers had filed a case with the Election Commission of Pakistan in August against the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician seeking his disqualification for failing to reveal the proceeds from the sale of gifts that he purchased at a discounted price from the state repository, also called Toshakhana.
Imran Khan, who came to power in 2018, apparently received expensive gifts from rich Arab rulers during official visits, which were deposited in the Toshakhana. Later, he bought those gifts at a discounted price as per the relevant laws and sold the same at hefty profits.
The former Prime Minister informed the ECP during the hearing that the sale of the gifts that he had procured from the state treasury after paying 21.56 million Pakistan rupees fetched about 58 million rupees.
Term of Disqualification
Legal experts are divided over the term of disqualification. Azam Nazeer Tarar, federal law minister said that election commission has disqualified Imran Khan for five years. However, Kanwar Dilshad, former secretary of the commission contradicted this version and said that disqualification is for “time being” only.