[ad_1]
Imran Khan, former prime minister of Pakistan, on Wednesday failed to get relief from the court to contest general elections to be held next month.
The appellate tribunal of the Lahore High Court (LHC) rejected the appeals of Khan and upheld the returning officers’ decision to reject the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder’s nomination papers for two National Assembly constituencies in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
The tribunal announced the verdict on Lahore’s NA-122 and Mianwali NA-89 seats, respectively.
He had won both the seats in the 2018 general elections.
The court observed that Khan was convicted in the Toshakhana (national treasury gifts) case. Though his conviction is suspended, he is not acquitted in the case. So he is not eligible to contest the February 8 polls, according to a report by news agency PTI, citing a court official.
On December 30, the returning officer had rejected nominations of Khan and several other party stalwarts.
Pakistan’s former prime minister had contended that the conviction of the Toshakhana case has no link with his disqualification under Article 62 (1f) of the Constitution as “not honest and righteous”, therefore, his nomination papers cannot be rejected.
He is likely to challenge the tribunal verdict in the higher court.
Pakistan will go to polls on February 8.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Gohar Khan said stopping Khan and other main party leaders from contesting polls is the worst kind of misuse of authority and abuse of process, the PTI report stated. “However, we will contest the elections come what may,” Gohar Khan was quoted as saying in the report.
In a separate case, on Wednesday, the Peshawar High Court declared the election commission’s decision to revoke Khan’s party electoral symbol ‘cricket bat’ unconstitutional.
The Peshawar HC directed the electoral body to return the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party its iconic ‘cricket bat’ symbol back and upload the party’s certificate of internal elections on its website.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Published: 10 Jan 2024, 04:59 PM IST
[ad_2]
Source link