Imprisoned ex-PM Imran Khan banned from Pakistani politics for 5 years

By Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was convicted and jailed on corruption charges, was banned from political career for five years on Tuesday, according to an official order.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) order, seen by Reuters and confirmed by a senior officer, said Khan was disqualified in accordance with his conviction.

“Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi is disqualified for a period of five years,” the statement said.

Khan's constituency would now remain vacant, the order added.

Under Pakistani law, a convicted person cannot run for any public office for a period defined by the ECP, which can be up to a maximum of five years from the date of conviction.

“We knew it was inevitable,” Khan aide Zulfikar Bukhari told Reuters, saying the party would challenge the disqualification in the High Court.

“We are confident that this trend will reverse,” he said.

Khan, who has denied any wrongdoing, was sentenced on Saturday to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts that he and his family acquired during his 2018 to 2022 term. He was arrested at his home in Lahore and taken to a prison near Islamabad. .

Khan's legal team has filed an appeal seeking to overturn the guilty verdict, which the Islamabad High Court will consider on Wednesday, his lawyer Naeem Panjutha said.

The petition seen by Reuters describes the conviction as “without legal authority, tainted by bias”, and says Khan, 70, did not receive an adequate hearing.

He said the court rejected a list of defense witnesses a day before delivering its verdict, calling it a “gross travesty of justice and a slap in the face of due process and a fair trial.”

The court had fast-tracked the trial after Khan refused to attend hearings despite repeated summons and arrest warrants.

INSTABILITY

Khan has been at the heart of political turmoil since he was ousted as prime minister in a vote of no confidence last year, sparking concerns about Pakistan's stability as it grapples with a economic crisis.

The story continues

With Khan out of the political scene for now, all eyes should be on the upcoming elections, Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center, told Reuters.

Any delay in the elections – due by November – would further fuel public anger and inject more uncertainty into the political environment, he said.

“This volatility and uncertainty could have implications for political stability but also for the economy, if foreign investors and donors become reluctant to deploy more capital in such an environment,” he said.

In June, Pakistan reached a final $3 billion deal with the IMF, which sought consensus on policy goals among all political parties.

Khan's legal team says he is being held in abject conditions in a small so-called Class C cell in a prison in Attock, near the capital Islamabad, with open toilets, when he should be entitled to a class B cell with facilities. including en suite bathroom, newspapers, books and TV.

A request had been submitted on his behalf for a class A cell with all the facilities to which he was entitled.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, who spent several months in prison on drug charges that he said were fabricated during Khan's tenure, said Khan himself was a supporter of uniformity in prisons.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; additional reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; editing by Peter Graff and Angus MacSwan)

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/movies/pakistan-ex-pm-imran-khan-063816944.html The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos