Pakistan's Imran Khan Challenges Election Commission's Decision to Bar Him From Contesting Polls

On Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) barred Imran Khan from contesting elections in the country reportedly for five years. The verdict came in response to a complaint filed by National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, who alleged that the ex-prime minister swindled 52 gift items from the state gift repository, Toshakhana.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan challenged the Election Commission of Pakistan's verdict in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday, a day after the body barred him from holding public office reportedly for five years.

In his petition, the 1992 Cricket World Cup-winning captain requested the court to set aside the ECP's order as it was "misconceived".

The Chief Justice of IHC, Athar Minallah will hear the matter on Monday.

Earlier, Khan slammed the ECP after the body's verdict against him in the alleged "Toshakhana scam."

"Whatever I have is to fight these thieves. The Election Commission is part of the mafia. As long as I am alive, I will fight them," Khan said, accusing Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja of being biased.

"If the prime minister and ministers get gifts, then these gifts go to Toshakhana and they can buy them at half the price under the law," he added, saying that the current government was trying to "silence him."

The ECP barred Khan from holding public office for five years on Friday after he was accused of improperly declaring details of gifts from foreign dignitaries and profiting from their alleged sale.

“The ECP [Election Commission of Pakistan] has declared Imran Khan was involved in corrupt practices. We are going to challenge it in the Islamabad high court right now,” Gohar Khan, one of his lawyers, said.

Meanwhile, other senior politicians from Khan’s party, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pervez Khattak, and Fawad Chaudhry, fumed at the ECP for barring Khan from contesting elections.

"Today is the beginning of the revolution. No one can disqualify Imran Khan. Only the public can do that. We had no hope of anything good from them. The ECP did exactly what we expected of them," an infuriated Chaudhry, who is the senior vice president of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party, told reporters.

After the ECP verdict, PTI members and supporters poured onto the streets in several cities to express their solidarity.

Activists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party carry picture of Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan Sikandar Sultan Raja during a protest against the disqualifying decision of former prime minister Imran Khan on a street in Quetta on October 21, 2022.

© AFP 2023 / BANARAS KHAN

However, in a video message posted on its website, the PTI chief urged them to end their demonstrations and wait for his instructions regarding his planned anti-government demonstration, coined the "Real Freedom March."

Though no date has been announced yet for the planned large gathering of Khan's supporters, Khan once again reiterated that it will be held soon.