ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), lodged a petition with the Supreme Court on Wednesday challenging the rejection of his nomination papers for the February 8 elections in Lahore and Mianwali constituencies.
Nomination papers for two National Assembly constituencies, namely NA-122 in Lahore and NA-89 in Mianwali, were declined for the former prime minister ahead of the upcoming polls.
The rejection was based on the returning officer’s assertion that Imran Khan had been convicted, dealing a setback to PTI’s electoral prospects.
The rejection occurred following objections raised by Mian Naseer, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, who pointed to Imran Khan’s five-year disqualification in the Toshakhana case.
In that case, the electoral body found Khan guilty of corrupt practices under Section 167 of the Elections Act, 2017. The objection also cited that the proposer and seconder for PTI founder’s nomination did not belong to NA-122.
Imran Khan had previously appealed to the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the rejection, but the court upheld the decisions of the returning officer and the appellate tribunal.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, Imran Khan urged the court to declare him eligible for contesting elections in the two constituencies. The plea argued that the notification of disqualification under Article 63(1)(h) was ineligible and contended that a moral crime must be committed for a person to be disqualified under Article 63(1)(h).
It further emphasized that the conviction in the Toshakhana case did not involve moral grounds, urging the court to nullify the decisions of the returning officer, Election Tribunal, and high court.
Earlier on the same day, an accountability court sentenced Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, to 14 years in jail in the Toshakhana case, with the judge also disqualifying the former premier for 10 years.
This verdict followed a previous day’s sentencing in the cipher case, where Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi were handed 10-year prison terms.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
