Breaking NEWS: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan disqualified. The election commission ruled that Mr. Ex-Prime Minister misled EC about the gifts he had received while he was in power. He is now disqualified from running for public office.
The decisions made by the board are another turn of events in a political battle that has been ongoing even before Khan’s removal and is just one of several battles that PTI is fighting.
Imran Khan’s lawyer, Gohar Khan
Gohar Khan, one of Imran Khan’s lawyers, just stated that he had been found to be an absent candidate and is disqualified for five years. He further said that we will challenge the decision in IHC (Islamabad High Court).
In Pakistan, a judge who is appointed by the government has to be given approval by vote from the legislative branch. This rule is often deemed unconstitutional because opposition politicians are not able to vote. The conflict in this case stems from the obligation of elected officials to declare all their assets.
In this case, the dispute arose because legislators have an obligation to declare all their assets. The case is about “Toshakhana”, which in the Mughal era described the “treasure houses” that princely rulers used to store and display splendid gifts they received.
Government officials are required to disclose all gifts, but there’s a dollar limit of an “economic value.” Anything under that value is considered a gift and can be kept.
What is Toshakhana?
The Toshakhana is a department that handles expensive items, and in some cases, the recipient can have 50% of the value cut. Khan raised the discount from 20%.
For months now, news sources like Pakistan newspapers have been posting salacious stories about how it appears Khan and his wife received expensive gifts on their international trips.
They offered luxury items like watches, jewelry, handbags, and perfumes.
Khan has allegedly failed to declare some gifts, which leaves ambiguity around the legitimacy of his profession.
In 2013, a complaint was registered with the election commission by the Pakistan Democratic Movement, a coalition of parties that are now in power following the 2018 election.
As per the Ex-PM, he has done nothing wrong and the valuation was done through proper channels.
Khan managed to win six of the eight national assembly seats that he stood for on Saturday. He called the election a “referendum”.
Contestants are able to choose which constituency they forfeit if they win more than one, but it is rare for a candidate to stand in more than one constituency.
For over seven decades, Pakistan has been in a state of political turmoil. This is even truer now that the ousting of the PTI leader has left no party members in Pakistan’s National Assembly.
The Possible concequenses of the decision:
Mr. Khan is looking for a Long March protest against the current government, he called it “imported Hukumat” or “imported government”.
Khan has led a series of rallies across the country, speaking out against powerful state institutions and hinting that they planned to topple his government.
The public is with Khan and What we are expecting after this decision is a huge public outburst in the streets. What will happen next is a matter of time but this is for sure that the next couple of days will be challenging for the current government how they will tackle the situation.
