Pakistan poll body rejects ex-PM Imran Khan's nomination papers for 2024 elections

Tariq Butt, Correspondent / Reuters

Pakistan's election body has rejected former prime minister Imran Khan's nomination to contest the 2024 national elections in two constituencies, officials and his party's media team said on Saturday.

Also during the day, the nomination papers of former PTI leader Usman Dar's mother from National Assembly constituency NA-71 were rejected. The returning officer rejected the nomination papers of Rehana Dar. The nomination papers of Umar Dar's wife Aruba Dar from NA-71 Sialkot were also rejected.

The 71-year-old former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister in April 2022.

He has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office from 2018 to 2022.

Imran has been disqualified from contesting the national elections scheduled for Feb.8 because of the corruption conviction, but he nevertheless filed nomination papers for the elections on Friday, his media team said.

In a list of rejected candidates from Lahore, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said Imran’s nomination was rejected because he was not a registered voter of the constituency and because he is "convicted by the court of law and has been disqualified." His media team said the commission had also rejected his nomination to contest the elections from his hometown, Mianwali.

Meanwhile, a citizen, Salman Naeem has filed objection to nomination papers of the former foreign minister and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Multan on Saturday. Qureshi and son Zain Qureshi cannot contest elections under Articles 62 and 63, the citizen argued.

Naeem submitted his application against nomination papers to the returning officer in Multan.

Both Rehana Dar and her daughter-in-law had submitted their nomination papers against the PML-N central leader Khawaja Asif from Sialkot. The RO rejected the nomination papers of both for non-payment of social security dues and non-disclosure of assets.

It should be remembered that a few days ago, Usman Dar’s mother blamed Khawaja Asif for the police raid on her house.

The PTI is going into the Feb.8 general elections without settling its issues with the military establishment or distancing its followers from Imran vs Pakistan Army narrative, said a report.

Following Imran’s arrest and owing to the post-May 9 crackdown against the PTI, its senior leadership has become a bit careful. However, no serious effort has been made by the party to change the minds of its followers, who are still poisoned with the anti-army narrative that led to the May 9 attacks.

Some independent observers believe that denying a level playing field to the PTI will lead to controversial elections, which could not give much needed political and economic stability to the country.

However, it is feared that political instability will be worse if the PTI wins the elections and gets into power without settling its issues with the military establishment.