The nomination papers of Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were turned down from National Assembly constituency NA-122 Lahore. This is a noteworthy step in front of the general elections on February 8.
After being removed from office as prime minister in April 2022, the 71-year-old former cricket star has become entangled in a maze of political and legal disputes. Since his three-year jail sentence in August for selling state gifts while in government from 2018 to 2022, he has not been spotted in public.
Despite being barred from running in the national elections set for February 8 due to his conviction for corruption, Khan submitted his nomination papers on Friday, according to his media staff.
Khan’s disqualification under Article 63 (1)(h) of the Constitution and his court conviction were cited by the Returning Officer (RO) as grounds for rejection.
Furthermore, he stated that Khan’s proposer was discovered to have violated section 60(1) of the Election Act 2017 by not being a registered voter in the constituency.
According to his media team, the former prime minister’s hometown of Mianwali also rejected his candidacy papers.
However, there were no objections made against Nawaz Sharif, the supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), as his nomination papers were accepted from Lahore’s NA-130.
Shehbaz Sharif, the president of the PML-N, also got his nomination papers accepted by NA-123 in Lahore. Sardar Latif Khan Khosa and Azhar Siddique, two of the PTI’s senior attorneys from the same seat, also had their nomination papers cleared by the RO.
In addition, the nomination papers of PML-N leaders Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Atta Tarar from NA-117, as well as PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, were accepted for the provincial seat PP-159, Lahore.
The NA-117 nomination papers of PTI leaders Abrarul Haq and Ali Ijaz were also accepted, along with Aleem Khan’s from NA-117, which represented the Istehqam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).
Nonetheless, Hammad Azhar’s nomination papers from PP-172 and PTI leader Dr. Yasmeen Rashid’s from NA-130 were turned down.
Regarding the PTI’s founding chairman Imran Khan’s nomination papers for NA-122, the RO received some objections on Thursday and decided to hold off on making a decision regarding the party’s application.
Mian Naseer, a current contestant for the PML-N, and the party’s former MPA filed objections before the RO, arguing that Imran was found guilty in the Toshakhana case and that the jail superintendent had not certified his nomination papers. In addition, he asserted that his opponent did not come from the PTI founder’s home constituency.
PTI supporters crowded the RO’s room, and there were some heated debates between the opposing counsels on certain points.
Imran’s attorneys asked the RO to reject the objections during the debate, citing the fact that the proposers and seconders were from the same constituency that the PTI founder was running from.
The objector’s attorney pleaded that they have no personal vendetta against Imran and said that they should concentrate on a few legal issues.
The objector’s attorney contended that it is imperative that the proposer and seconder of any candidate reside in the constituency in which the contestant is running. He went on to say that Imran could not submit nomination papers since the ECP had imprisoned him for five years.
“An application against Imran’s disqualification is still pending before the Lahore High Court (LHC),” said the attorney for the PTI.
The RO questioned, “Did LHC suspend the disqualification?” The PTI counsel retorted that the case was still pending and that the LHC had not halted the disqualification.
The RO went on to question the objector’s attorney, “Do you have any proof to establish that Imran’s seconder does not belong to the constituency where he is contesting from?”
The objector’s attorney contended that there is enough evidence to support the RO’s decision to reject the proposers’ and seconders’ nomination papers if they do not come from the appropriate constituency.
He went on to say that the nomination papers were not signed by the proposer and seconder in Imran’s presence. PTI’s attorney then suggested that the RO call the individual to ensure that his question was answered.
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