Imran Khan, the chairman of the PTI and a former prime minister, has denied disqualification rumours and his removal from office prior to the upcoming general elections, declaring that “there is absolutely no case that can remove me.”
“Since I have so many legal matters, they are doing everything they can to disqualify me. They present a new case against me every other day, the former prime minister claimed in a BBC interview.
Imran khan responded, “We will cross that bridge when we come to this [disqualification],” when asked who would lead the party in the event of his disqualification.
The PTI head reaffirmed his call for immediate elections, saying that only free and fair elections could guarantee stability in the nation. “Free and fair elections are the only means by which Pakistan could achieve stability.”
When asked why he is pressing for polls so soon after the economy could suffer further, Imran responded, “I am pressing for polls because the damage has already been done and it will only grow worse the longer this administration stays.”
“The concern in Pakistan is that we could have a situation similar to Sri Lanka,” he continued.
The highest courts currently have many proceedings pending against the former prime minister. One of which is the Toshakhana case where he is suspected of illegally selling presents from foreign dignitaries and heads of state for personal gain.
However, accusers accuse the PTI chairman of using his position as premier from 2018 to 2022 to purchase and resell presents. They valued these presents at more than 140 million Pakistani rupees and gave them to him during his trips overseas. Among the gifts were watches from a royal family.
Imran is disqualified.
The deposed premier was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan in October of last year. It found that he had “intentionally and deliberately” violated the provisions of sections 137, 167, and 173 of the Elections Act, 2017. The violation was related to providing false information about his assets and liabilities. This was for the 2020–21 election cycle.
After receiving the Toshakhana reference from the ECP, the district court of Islamabad began the criminal proceedings against the PTI chief.