ISLAMABAD: Aleema Khan, the sister of former Pakistani Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, said on Thursday neither she nor the ex-premier’s wife would contest upcoming general elections.
Aleema’s statement comes as Khan remains disqualified from contesting elections after the Islamabad High Court on Thursday rejected his plea to suspend his conviction on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts during his 2018-22 tenure as prime minister. He denies any wrongdoing and says the charges are politically motivated.
Khan, who is serving a three-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, was seeking to overturn that conviction, which has barred him from contesting elections for five years.
Speaking to journalists outside the Islamabad High Court on Thursday, his sister Aleema said she would not contest the upcoming general elections due on Feb. 8.
“I will not contest the election, even if Imran Khan asks me, I will not participate in the election,” she told reporters.
When asked if Khan’s wife would contest polls, she added:
“None of us is contesting elections.”
In Pakistan, it is common for politicians disqualified from contesting elections to field their family members to run in their place and retain their vote bank.
A caretaker government is running Pakistan until the national election is held and a winning party can secure a parliamentary majority and select a new prime minister.
But questions surround the legitimacy of the election if Khan, the main opposition leader and arguably the country’s most popular politician, cannot contest. He denies any wrongdoing in the slew of legal cases against him, saying they are motivated to keep him and the PTI from contesting elections.
