Big Blow to Imran Khan as Election Commission Rejects His Nomination Papers for Faisalabad Bypolls

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and ex-PM Imran Khan have been at loggerheads ever since the cricketer-turned-politician lost power in April. While Khan has accused the organization of being in league with the current Shehbaz Sharif-led government, an ECP investigation alleged that his party had received prohibited funding from overseas.

In a major setback for Imran Khan, his nomination papers, submitted to contest the National Assembly polls from the Faisalabad constituency have been rejected by the Election Commission of Pakistan, The Express Tribune daily reported.

According to the returning officer Irfan Kausar, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) head's nomination papers were rejected after the ECP found discrepancies in his signatures.

Kausar said that the information Khan had provided about his assets and liabilities was also unsatisfactory.

The returning officer had summoned Khan to seek answers about the inconsistencies in his nomination papers, but the former PM did not appear before the Commission.

However, Khan can appeal against the ECP's decision in the Appellate Tribunal of the High Court.

Meanwhile, PTI's Farrukh Habib, who was a minister in Khan's government, slammed the returning officer for his move.

"We will not trust this returning officer in the future either. A PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League (N)) candidate has been a defaulter of WASA (Water and Sanitation Authority) for five years, [yet] his papers were approved," he said.