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Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan challenged the top electoral body’s decision in the Islamabad High Court on Saturday to disqualify him from holding public office for five years in the Toshakhana case because he concealed the proceeds of the sale of gifts he received from foreign leaders.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician lost his parliamentary membership and on Friday ruled by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that he concealed the sale of precious gifts.
He appealed to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) through his lawyer Ali Zafar.
Zafar called on the court to hear the case immediately for a hearing on Saturday.
read more: Imran Khan is preparing for the Long March.Now, facing a protracted legal battle
The IHC accepted the appeal, but did not believe it was urgent to deal with the matter on the same day the application was filed, and held a hearing on Monday.
The head of Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in an appeal that the ECP has no power to make decisions on corrupt practices or disqualify people, asking the court to suspend the agency’s ruling until a final decision on the appeal is made.
The filing of an appeal puts Khan on an uphill legal battle to regain political turf after his disqualification.
However, there is confusion as to whether the five-year disqualification applies only to the five-year term of the current parliament, or whether the disqualification period begins on the date of the ECP ruling.
The term of the current National Assembly began in August 2018 and will complete in 2023. Khan had offered to resign as MP in April, but it was not accepted.
In this case, his disqualification will end at the expiry of the parliamentary term.
In a taped message released after two back-to-back meetings of his party shortly after the damning verdict, Khan rejected the charges and vowed to challenge his disqualification legally, not through street protests.
In a report on Khan’s looming legal battle, Dawn newspaper said his party had announced a challenge to the disqualification in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), but Khan must stand trial again before the trial judge because of the ECP. The complaint against him has been forwarded to submitting false claims about hidden gifts.
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