Pakistan elections: Nomination papers of ex-PM Imran Khan rejected on 'moral' grounds

Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan faced rejection of his nomination papers for the upcoming general elections on 8 February. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) cited his conviction for “moral turpitude” in a corruption case and other grounds as reasons for the rejection. The 71-year-old founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and several of his senior colleagues had their nomination papers turned down by the returning officer (RO) of the National Assembly seat in Lahore (NA-122). The decision, detailed across eight pages, referred to the judgment of an additional session judge in Islamabad that confirmed Khan’s conviction for “moral turpitude,” as reported by the Dawn newspaper on Monday. Besides the main reason that Khan was convicted in the Toshakhana corruption case, objections were raised against his nomination papers as the proposer and seconder for the PTI’s founder did not belong to the respective constituencies. Although the Islamabad High Court suspended Khan’s sentence, his five-year disqualification in the Toshakhana case still stands. The former cricketer-turned-politician’s candidature was hit by Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the RO said, adding that the conviction had not been suspended or set aside by any court to date. In light of the above, the allegations levelled by the objector, Mian Naseer Ahmad, against the respondent, Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi, are legal and substantial in nature and have succeeded in making out a case against the respondent. Consequently, the papers of the respondent from NA-122 stand rejected, the report said, citing the verdict. On Saturday, the PTI party condemned the top poll body’s rejection of the nomination papers of Khan and several other party stalwarts on what it called flimsy grounds. Khan and his senior party colleague and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have been facing multiple cases and arrests since the 9 May riots, with both incarcerated at the high-security Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. With inputs from agencies