According to Kanwar Dilshad, a former secretary of the constitutional body, if the election body deems PTI Chairman Imran Khan guilty in the Toshakhana reference, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has the power to strip him of his office.
At 2:00 PM today, the ECP will make its decision in the lengthy Toshakhana disqualification reference against Imran Khan public.
According to the former ECP employee, Imran Khan might be removed from office under Article 63 if the ECP finds him guilty.
He added that the Election Commission might potentially refer a case involving the PTI leader to a sessions court. After hearing the case, the court may sentence Khan to up to three years in prison, he noted.
The ECP summoned all pertinent parties or their attorneys to appear before the commission at its secretariat, located at Constitution Avenue, G-5/2, in Islamabad, per a notice issued today.
After months of hearings, the ECP had reserved its decision in the Toshakhana case on September 19. A five-member panel, presided by by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, reserved judgement after hearing the arguments.
Case of Toshakhana
In August 2022, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf sent the Toshakhana scandal-related disqualification of former Prime Minister Imran Khan to the ECP in accordance with Articles 62A, 63A, and 223 of the Constitution.
Ali Gohar Khan, Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha of the PML-N, and five other individuals submitted the disqualification reference.
The 28-page reference listed 52 presents that Toshakhana received from the former prime minister and which were illegally taken away at low prices. Most of the gifts, including some expensive watches, were later sold in the market.
The gifts’ estimated worth has been determined to be Rs 142,042,100. Between August 2018 and December 2021, the gifts were given.
Ranjha, a PML-N MNA, claims that Khan omitted information from his 2018–2019 statement of assets regarding the gift of watches from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
According to Ranjha, this concealing of facts is equivalent to lying, which is a crime under Section 137. Thus, he declared that Khan was no longer Sadiq and Ameen and should be permanently barred from running in elections in accordance with Article 62(1)(f), Article 2, and Article 3 of the Constitution.
Article 62(1)(f) is the same legal instrument that disqualified former PM Nawaz Sharif from contesting elections and led to his removal from power, Ranjha said.
