Pakistan election commission bars former PM Khan from holding public office
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan was disqualified as a lawmaker and barred from holding public office after the country’s Election Commission found him guilty of hiding his assets.
The commission’s five-member panel headed by its chairman Sikandar Sultan Raja on Friday issued its order after the case was referred to it by the speaker of the lower house of parliament.
Khan’s spokesman said the ex-cricket star will challenge the order in a court.
The election body said in its statement that Khan committed “corrupt practice” and didn’t disclose to authorities the money he earned from selling gifts given to him by various visiting foreign dignitaries.
Pakistani law does not bar lawmakers from selling such gifts but hiding the transactions is illegal.
If the court endorses the ruling it would be an abrupt end to his often turbulent political career that began when he was elected to parliament in 2002.
Friday’s order will fuel more political uncertainty in Pakistan.
Khan has already warned that he will lead his supporters in a march to the capital Islamabad to push his demand for early elections.
The turmoil comes as the South Asian nation grapples with an economy that is in disrepair.
The cricketer-turned-politician has been on streets for the past six months calling for early elections and targeting state institutions.
These include Pakistan’s army, which he claims colluded with the US and his political opponents led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to oust him in April. All of them reject the allegation.
Khan is currently flush from a sweeping victory in recent by-polls where he won six out of seven seats he personally contested in a display of his popular appeal.
The former cricket star has been holding packed public rallies across Pakistan.