Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: As Pakistan Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif prepared to dissolve the National Assembly on Wednesday, and set up an interim government to hold the next general elections without his predecessor in the fray, his jailed predecessor Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi has virtually pleaded for mercy.
“Take me out of here; I don’t want to remain in jail,” Imran Khan told his lawyers, the media reported.
On Tuesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified the former PM and barred him from contesting elections for five years.
But there is neither clarity about any interim government nor the possibility of any polls this year, the media reported.
The ex-PM, charged with corruption in the Toshakhana case and sentenced to three years, is unhappy and worried as he remains holed up in his prison cell at Attock jail which he complained was infested with flies during the day and insects at night, reports said.
The cricketer-turned-politician, 70, was arrested on Saturday last week shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana case. He has appealed his conviction by filing a plea at the Islamabad High Court.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman asked his legal team that he does not wish to remain in prison, Geo News quoted him as saying.
Khan’s counsel Naeem Haider Panjotha, who was granted access by the jail authorities on Monday to meet him, said the former PM was being kept in “distressing” conditions and provided “C-Class jail facilities.”
However, Panjotha claimed that Khan’s morale was high despite difficulties and he would rather spend his life in jail than bow to slavery.
The former PM was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore after his conviction in the case in which he was accused of misusing his office (2018-22) to buy and sell gifts worth more than PKR 140 million (USD 635,000), in state possession, that he had received during visits abroad.
Khan denied the allegations against him.
The former PM’s outfit PTI has moved the Supreme Court against the trial court’s order, seeking to declare Judge Dilawar’s verdict “null and void.” It also approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq requesting Khan’s transfer from Attock jail to Adiala jail.
Khan was earlier arrested on May 9 in Islamabad from the High Court’s premises in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, sparking unprecedented violent protests by his supporters. He was released later.
He faces over 140 cases across the country and charges like terrorism, violence, blasphemy, corruption, and murder.
On Wednesday, PM Shehbaz Sharif wrote to President Arif Alvi, calling for the dissolution of the National Assembly, the Lower House of Parliament, marking the end of a chaotic tenure that began five years ago with Khan at the helm.
Sharif, who assumed power in April 2022 after Khan lost a no-confidence vote in parliament, on Tuesday said he had asked the President to dissolve the House three days before the National Assembly’s current tenure expires on August 12.
“Tomorrow (Wednesday), my government completes its term and after meeting constitutional norms, we will hand over the reins to the interim set-up,” he said at the headquarters of the all-powerful Pakistan Army, the real power behind the throne.
The dissolution allows the interim government, which is still to be set up, to oversee the next general elections within 90 days, that is by November 2023.
According to Pakistan’s Constitution, elections should be held within 60 days if a legislative assembly is dissolved on the scheduled day, and within 90 days if it is done earlier.
Last week, the government approved the results of a digital census in Pakistan, putting the country’s population at 241 million, up from 207 million according to the 2017 census.
The ECP requires at least four months to delimit and redraw the constituencies, making it uncertain if the polls would really be held on time.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also said there was no chance of holding elections in 2023.
“Very straightforward answer: no,” Sanaullah said when asked about the chances of polls this year.
PM Sharif’s 15-month tenure was marked by political chaos, a precarious economy, and a worsening security situation.
Unprecedented catastrophic floods in 2023 killed nearly 1,800 people and caused a loss of more than USD 30 billion from which Pakistan has still not recovered
The country’s economy was on the brink of default until recently when it managed a last-minute USD 3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Sharif’s coalition rule also saw a massive crackdown on Khan and his PTI following their demands to hold immediate elections and scathing attacks on the powerful military.