Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan banned from running in any elections for 5 years

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been banned from running for any political office for five years, his lawyer said, after the country's election commission ruled he misled officials over gifts he received while in power.

The decision is another turn in a political debate that began even before Khan was ousted in April, and is one of several legal battles the former international cricket star and his PTI party have fought.

Dozens of his supporters attacked cars leaving the election commission headquarters in Pakistan after the ruling, and police arrested one of Imran Khan's security guards after he fired a shot at the ground.

In the eastern city of Lahore, his supporters blocked some roads, while in Faisalabad they used burning tires to block traffic.

Islamabad police announced on Twitter that the security forces of the capital were "on high alert".

"The Election Commission of Pakistan has announced that Imran Khan has been implicated in corrupt practices. We will appeal against that before the Islamabad High Court for the time being," lawyer Gauhar Khan told AFP.

And on Friday evening, Khan, in a video message, called on his supporters to stop the demonstrations, pending a new "long march" to Islamabad, which he intends to organize at the end of the month.

"It will be the longest march in the country's history," he said, stressing that his struggle will not end as long as "the rule of law" will not prevail in the country.

He accused the election commission of colluding with a corrupt authority and added, "I will fight them as long as I live."

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