The Islamabad High Court on Monday rejected former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's plea to instantly suspend the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to disqualify Khan from holding public office over charges of unlawfully selling gifts received from heads of other nations and foreign dignitaries.
The Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief had challenged the EC’s decision to disqualify him from holding public office for five years for hiding proceeds from the sale of gifts. He has also lost membership in the Parliament.
Khan had received expensive gifts from rich Arab rulers during official visits that were deposited in the state repository Toshakhana. Later, he bought those at slashed rates following the law and further sold them at hefty profits. In his statement to ECP, he declared the gifts had been procured from the state treasury for Rs 21.56 million and sold for Rs 58 million. The gifts included a Graff wristwatch, a pair of cufflinks, an expensive pen, a ring, and four Rolex watches.
The ruling coalition government lawmakers filed a case in August against Imran Khan, seeking his disqualification for failing to reveal the proceeds from the sale of gifts. The top election body then found Imran Khan guilty and disqualified him for a period of five years.
Khan, in his appeal, stated that the top election body had no power to disqualify people and has asked the high court to suspend the body's ruling until a final decision is reached.
There is confusion about whether the five-year disqualification would apply only to the five-year term of the current assembly, or whether the disqualification period would start from the date of the ECP verdict.
The tenure of the current national assembly began in August 2018 and will be completed in 2023. Khan already tendered his resignation as a lawmaker in April but it was not accepted. In this case, his disqualification would end with the tenure of the assembly expiring.
