Pakistan: Election commission bans Imran Khan's aide from contesting polls for 5 years

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a close associate of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, has been barred from running for office by Pakistan’s electoral commission for a period of five years. This comes after the former foreign minister was given ten years apiece in prison for disclosing state secrets.

Qureshi, 67, was disqualified five days prior to the general elections on February 8, which Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is running in spite of a crackdown by the government and without its iconic poll symbol, the bat.

The announcement was made a few days after Qureshi and Khan were given ten years in prison in the well-known cypher case by a special court created under the Official Secrets Act. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) stated that any person convicted of a crime is prohibited from participating in elections by the law and the Constitution, citing the special court’s January 30, 2024 ruling, as reported by The Express Tribune.

“As a consequence, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi has become disqualified under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan read with Section 232 of the Elections Act, 2017. Therefore, Mr Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi is disqualified to contest General Elections-2024 and any subsequent elections for a period of five years,” the ECP said in a statement.

The cipher issue concerns a piece of paper that Khan displayed during a public rally on March 27, 2022, allegedly a diplomatic cable, and claimed to be “evidence” of a “international conspiracy” to overthrow his government. Khan named the US in his assertion.

The Federal Investigation Agency filed a complaint against Khan, 71, and Qureshi on August 15, 2022, alleging that both individuals broke secrecy regulations when handling a cable that was sent by the Pakistani embassy in Washington in March 2022.

Khan was already banned from politics for a period of five years.

(With agency inputs)