Imran Khan during a press interview in Lahore (Reuters)
Pakistan's Insaf Party announced on Wednesday that party leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan will run for the upcoming elections in at least 3 constituencies, as political parties prepare to run in elections on February 8.
Speaking to the media outside Adiyala prison, where Imran Khan is being held in the city of Rawalpindi, which borders Islamabad, Pakistani senator from Insaf Ali Zafar, said, "We want to inform you that Imran Khan will run from at least 3 constituencies, and we hope that the Islamabad High Court will soon announce its verdict in the Tushakhana case with the announcement of the election schedule."
Zafar said the Islamabad High Court would announce its pre-trial ruling in the case and also rule on the appeal of the Insaf Party, which sought to suspend the former prime minister's conviction in the Tushakhana case.
On August 8, Pakistan's Election Commission banned Imran Khan from running for election or holding any government position for five years, in addition to a three-year prison sentence in Pakistan's case known as "Toshakhana," a "gift warehouse" where Khan is accused of selling or hiding details of gifts given to him while he was prime minister.
According to Pakistani law, any public office official is forbidden to dispose of or conceal details of any gifts given to him while in office, but in the same month the Islamabad High Court suspended Imran's three-year prison sentence, but he remains in prison in other cases.
Earlier this month, the Islamabad High Court upheld its verdict on Imran Khan's petition seeking to suspend his conviction in the Tushakhana gifts case, a ruling that will determine whether he can run for election.
Ali Zafar called on members of the Insaf Party to submit their candidacy papers for the upcoming elections, saying that the party will give priority to members who face prison sentences to run in the elections, and at the same time the head of the Insaf Party Johar Khan confirmed that Imran will be provided with his candidacy papers on Thursday, stressing that Imran Khan will run in these elections.
Imran Khan remains imprisoned in Adiyala prison in a different graft case, as well as a cryptographic case in which Khan is accused of divulging state secrets after showing the public a document he says contains a threat from the United States.
Imran Khan's government was toppled on 10 April 2022 after a vote of no confidence in Pakistan's parliament amid political tension and opposition-led demonstrations against Imran Khan and Hizbullah's policies, especially in the economic field.
Source : Al Jazeera