Imran’s disqualification creates a row

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has disqualified former prime minister and chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) from being a Member of the National Assembly on the charges of “corrupt practices”.

Khan has appealed the verdict in Islamabad High Court, challenging the jurisdiction of the commission to issue a disqualification order. The case related to Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi selling things brought from gift depository or Tosha Khana, where gifts given by foreign heads of government and state to their counterparts in Pakistan, and selling them for a higher price.

But there is uncertainty and confusion over two things.

First, whether the disqualification is for the remaining period of Khan’s membership in the National Assembly, whose term will end in August 2023, or does it extend to five years or for a lifetime.

The second issue is about whether Khan can remain the chairman of his party. In the case of former prime minister and former leader of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the Supreme Court had ruled in 2018 that Sharif’s disqualification is for a lifetime, and he cannot also head the political party.

Some of the legal experts are argue that the two cases are separate, and the precedent created in Sharif’s case cannot be applied to Khan. The commission has however asked a criminal case to be initiated against Khan. After a trial, he could be pronounced guilty or not guilty, and the punishment that could follow from it if he is guilty.

Apart from the legal ambiguities of the ECP’s judgment, it is the political consequences that become crucial in this case. The PTI is Khan’s party, and it is identified with him. If he is debarred from leading the party, PTI could possibly collapse.

Of course, if the need arises, one of his colleagues in the party will be formally elected to be the leader, but it is Khan’s charisma that will continue to drive the party. It might become necessary for Khan in the wake of this crisis to give the party a more independent identity and programme, and create a second rung of leaders so that whatever may be the fluctuations in his political fortunes, the party will remain a permanent entity in the country’s political arena.

There are now two major parties, the PML (N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). It is for the first time since the 1990s that Khan had turned the PTI into a national party by winning the national elections in 2018. And he did so after many failures. It is indeed the case that PML (N) is centred in Punjab, the PPP in Sind and the PTI in the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). But all the three parties have created a national footprint for themselves. There are other smaller parties as well like Fazlur Rehman’s Jamaat-e-Islami, but their appeal and presence is limited.

In Pakistan’s generally fractious politics, political parties and leaders attack each other and look for ways of edging out the rivals. One issue that is used as a weapon against political rivals is that of corruption, more than anything else.

And there are many ways in which corruption charges can be made to stick to a political opponent.

This was evident in the case of Asaf Ali Zardari, husband of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and Zardari spent years in prison. Similarly, Sharif faces corruption cases and so did his daughter, Maryam Sharif. It is not surprising that Khan was caught in the dragnet of corruption charges.

But Pakistan’s laws against corruption of politicians are indeed stringent and they can stymie political careers. Sharif has paid a price. Zardari ducked the trend. It remains to be seen whether Khan can survive the onslaught of the charges of corruption.