Pak Election Body Bars Imran Khan's Close Aid From Contesting Polls For 5 Years
NDTV
The disqualification of Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a former Pakistan foreign minister and a close aide of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan, comes five days before the February 8 general elections.
Pakistan's election commission has disqualified Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a close aide of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan, from contesting elections for five years after the former foreign minister was sentenced to 10 years each in prison for leaking state secrets.
The disqualification of Qureshi, 67, comes five days before the February 8 general elections, which Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is contesting despite a state crackdown and without its famous election symbol, the bat.
The announcement comes days after a special court, established under the Official Secrets Act, awarded Qureshi 10 years imprisonment in the high-profile cypher case along with Khan. Citing the special court's judgement dated January 30, 2024, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that any convicted individual, in accordance with the Constitution and the law, cannot participate in elections, The Express Tribune reported.
