Roving Periscope: Pak EC disqualifies ‘Kaptan’ Imran from polls for 5 years

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, 70, from running for political office for five years.

The Pakistanis are viewing the move as a panicked reaction from the ruling coalition, rattled after the recent by-election results in which Imran Khan’s political outfit won six of eight national assembly seats, a vote he claimed was a referendum on his popularity.

The poll panel said Imran Khan ‘misled’ officials about the gifts he received from foreign leaders, and did not properly deposit them in the Toshakhana (State Treasure) as per rules, while in power as the Prime Minister (2018-22), the media reported.

The crucial decision is likely to further politically polarise and destabilize the South Asian country already tarred with terrorism, a crippling economy, and global untouchability.

The latest political wrangling had begun even before Khan’s forced ouster from power in April and is among the many legal battles being fought by the former international cricket star and his outfit, the Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

“The ECP has declared Imran Khan was involved in corrupt practices,” Gohar Khan, one of his lawyers, told reporters, adding they had disqualified him for five years. “We will challenge it in the Islamabad high court right now.”

Pakistan’s kangaroo courts are often used to settle scores and trap political rivals in lengthy proceedings as part of the all-powerful military’s stifling controls.

But the ECP’s involvement in the Imran stems from the obligation of elected officials to declare all their assets. The Imran case centers on a government department, “Toshakhana”, which during the Mughal era referred to the “treasure houses” kept by the princely rulers to store and display gifts lavished on them.

According to rules, government officials and lawmakers must declare all gifts but are allowed to keep those below a certain value.

More expensive items must go to Toshakhana, but sometimes, the recipient can repurchase them at around 50 percent of their value—a discount Imran Khan raised from 20 percent while in office.

For months, the Pakistani media carried spicy stories claiming Khan and his wife received lavish gifts worth millions during trips abroad. They included luxury watches, jewelry, designer handbags, and perfumes. His opponents accused Khan of failing to declare some gifts or the profit made from selling them.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement, a coalition of parties that now make up the Shahbaz Sharif Government, had complained to the ECP against the former PM on the Toshakhana issue.

Khan claimed he had not made public some gifts on’ national security grounds,’ but in a written submission admitted buying gifts worth nearly 22 million Pakistani rupees (USD 100,000), and later selling them for more than twice that amount. They did the valuation through proper channels, he said.

Pakistani individuals can contest elections from multiple constituencies and choose one of them to represent later if they won. Khan has been contesting from multiple constituencies.

Since his ouster in April, Imran Khan has been attempting to disrupt Pakistan’s political process. He had also ordered all his lawmakers to resign, leaving no PTI members in the National Assembly.

He later vowed to take out a “long march” of his supporters on Islamabad to pressure the government to announce the national election, which is scheduled for October 2023.

Out of power, he has frequently been holding massive rallies across the country, roasting his rivals and state institutions — including the powerful Pakistani Army — for allegedly conspiring to topple his government with America’s support.

The former cricket ‘Kaptan’ rode to power in 2018 on a populist platform promising social reforms, religious conservatism, and a fight against corruption, overturning decades of rule by two feuding political dynasties—the Sharif and the Bhutto-Zardari families— interspersed with military takeovers. At present, Shehbaz Sharif is the PM and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is the Foreign Minister.

Under Imran, the Pakistani economy stagnated and Imran lost the support of the army, which was earlier accused of helping him get elected to power.