Knocked out?

The axe of disqualification has fallen on Imran Khan. The Election Commission on Friday, in a much-anticipated decision, accepted the reference filed by the ruling PDM coalition on August 4, against the PTI chairman for not sharing the details of Toshakhana gifts and proceeds from their sale. Under Article 63(1)(p), the ECP found it appropriate to disqualify the former prime minister, and went on to annul his membership of the lower house. In a 36-page detailed judgment, a four-member bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja was unanimously of the view that Khan has made false statements and incorrect declarations. The verdict has triggered countrywide protests and people were amassing on streets, blaming the electoral body for “bias” and “acting beyond its jurisdiction”.

The Toshakhana case was hanging like a Sword of Damocles on Khan, as he had allegedly refused to disclose information pertaining to sale of gifts bought from the state treasury as mandated under the Pakistan Information Commission. Whereas, the PTI maintained that the sale of the gifts procured from the state treasury after paying Rs21.56 million fetched about Rs58 million. It went on to furnish receipts of purchase and duly paid taxation documents. But as far as the Election Commission was concerned, there was a rat beneath the shelves, and it combed down on the information to find the PTI chief on the wrong side of the law. Thus, it was fait accompli and the decision reserved on September 19 was set to snowball into a bigger political upheaval sooner rather than later. Until and unless superior courts intervene to either set aside the ECP decision or strike it down altogether, it is very likely that criminal proceedings will be initiated against Imran for mis-declaration.

The question now is: what will be the outcome of this disqualification in the political realm as the party gears up to contest the verdict in the court of law? The flashback from the streets paints a nail-biting situation and is enough to further marginalise an already divisive society. This evolves in the backdrop of a possible call for a long march on the federal capital causing enough ammunition to tilt the power-game on either side. The situation is fraught with serious consequences and the trump cards rest with either the PTI leader or the judiciary. If Khan goes ahead with his protest march on the capital, there seems to be no returning from the brink. And if the courts intervene to strike a semblance by suspending the ECP order, it could be the only rightly acclaimed relief in a bizarre and option-less scenario. As far as the embattled coalition government is concerned, its strategy to seek Khan’s exit on a knockout basis — after facing repeated rout at polls — is set to be short-lived. The question of legitimacy and legality for any public representative rests with the electorate.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2022.

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