Party of ex-PM Khan says leader will contest Pakistan general elections from prison

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday he would contest the upcoming general elections from three constituencies.
Khan is currently serving a three-year jail sentence in a corruption case involving earnings from the sale of state gifts, due to which he is effectively disqualified from running for public office for five years as convicts under Pakistani law cannot contest elections. Pakistan is scheduled to hold general elections on Feb. 8.
The ex-premier, arguably the country’s most popular politician, has filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court, asking for a suspension of the sentence in the state gifts case, which was delivered by a lower court. The IHC has reserved its verdict on the appeal petition. Khan also faces a slew of other legal challenges, including one case in which he has been indicted for leaking official secrets and in which a guilty sentence could mean the death penalty.
“Tomorrow Khan will get the nomination forms and he will contest these elections,” Gohar Khan, who has been elected the chairman of the PTI while Khan is in jail and is also the former PM’s lawyer, told reporters.
“The constituencies he has chosen are Mianwali, Lahore and Islamabad.”
Ali Zafar, another lawyer on Khan’s legal team, said the party hoped the IHC would soon announce a favorable verdict on Khan’s appeal.
“We hope that the judgment will soon be announced because the [election] schedule has been released,” the lawyer said.
He said other PTI leaders and supporters who were in jail would also be allotted party tickets.
“The rest of the candidates have also been finalized and their names will be announced soon,” Zafar added.
A caretaker government under interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar is running the country until the national election is held. Independent analysts and political parties have openly questioned whether Kakar’s administration, which is believed to be close to the all-powerful army, can ensure fair competition in elections. The military says it does not interfere in political affairs.
Kakar’s party was an ally in the outgoing anti-Khan coalition government and he took over from Shehbaz Sharif who comes from Khan’s biggest rival party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which, with the alliance of nearly a dozen parties, removed Khan from power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in 2022.
As it stands, questions surround the legitimacy of the election if Khan cannot contest. Khan and his PTI party have also openly complained of a widening crackdown against party members and campaigning activities, and say the legal cases against the PTI founder and other key aides are meant to keep them out of the elections.