The office of the Provincial Election Commissioner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has directed returning officers in various districts to ensure the collection of outstanding fines from political leaders, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who reportedly owes Rs200,000 to the electoral authority. This request was made during the scrutiny of nomination papers for the February 8 elections.
According to a letter dated December 28 from the provincial election commissioner, it has been revealed that a total of 62 political figures from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab have unpaid fines ranging from Rs5,000 to Rs50,000, depending on the severity of the violations committed.
Imran Khan allegedly incurred fines for four separate violations, each resulting in a Rs50,000 penalty, which he has yet to pay. These violations occurred in March 2022, just a month before his removal through a parliamentary vote.
The largest outstanding amount in the Election Commission of Pakistan’s list is attributed to Imran Khan, totaling Rs200,000. Following him are the former Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mahmood Khan, with a fine of Rs150,000 for three violations, and former federal minister Murad Saeed with Rs100,000 for two violations.
Other notable figures on the list include PTI’s Azam Khan Swati, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Kamran Bangash, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, and JUI-P’s Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, each having outstanding amounts of Rs50,000 owed to the Election Commission.
The letter from the Election Commission states that candidates and public office holders violated the code of conduct during previous election campaigns, leading to fines imposed by District Monitoring Officers under Section 234 sub-section (3) of the Election Act 2017. Some individuals filed unsuccessful appeals, resulting in unpaid fines.
The competent authority desires that the list of defaulters be shared with returning officers for the upcoming general elections, and the recovery of unpaid fines should be ensured during the scrutiny of nomination papers.
According to the election schedule, the last date for scrutinizing nomination papers is December 30. The process began on December 24. The deadline for filing appeals against the returning officers’ decisions is January 3, with the last date for deciding appeals by an appellate tribunal on January 10. The revised list of candidates will be published on January 11, and the last date for withdrawing candidature is January 12. The polling day is set for February 8.
