Islamabad:
The Election Commission in Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday issued a major blow to PTI’s parliamentary muscle, which disqualified several of the party’s top opposition leaders the day it marked the second anniversary of Imran Khan’s arrest with nationwide protests.
The ax fell hard and swept the party’s parliamentary leadership in both houses after a recent decision by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Faisalabad. The court handed prison sentences of up to 10 years to over 100 PTI managers and workers, including central opposition figures, for their alleged involvement in riots on May 9, triggered by Khan’s dramatic arrest in 2023.
These De-noticials include Senate’s opposition leader Shibli Faraz, National Assembly’s opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan, Sunni Ittehad Council Manager SaBzada Hamid Raza and PTI parliamentary leader Zartaj Yellow.
Three members of the Punjab Assembly – Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, Junaid Afzal Sahi and Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal – have also been disqualified.
By acting on the conviction, the ECP issued a formal notification that disqualified nine legislators in accordance with Article 63 (2). Paragraph 1 (h) of the Constitution that prevents any person convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude and sentenced to two or more years in prison from having chosen the office.
“A person must be disqualified from being elected or elected as and from being a member of Majlis-E-Shoora (Parliament), if he has been, in the conviction of any offense involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a period of no less than two years, unless a period of five years has gone since his release,” Reads Article 63 (1) (H).
The ECP stated that, after being convicted and convicted, the legislators now “stand disqualified under Article 63 (1) (H) of the Constitution,” added that “therefore their seats have become vacant”.
All nine had been found guilty of ATC for their alleged roles in the turmoil on May 9, when PTI supporters who were incensited by Khan’s arrest outside Islamabad High Court, stormed and vandalized military installations, including the martyrs’ memorials. PTI had previously stated that any attempt to arrest Khan would cross his “red line”.
In the wake, the military declared May 9 as a “black day” and called it a “dark chapter” in national history. However, PTI has consistently claimed that events were a “false-flag operation” orchestrated by the establishment to hit the party and crush the dissent.
The ECP’s step landed, like PTI Restod on the street to mark the anniversary of KHAN’s arrest. With the latest disqualifications, the PML-N-LED-Government Alliance is now almost undisputed in parliament, the political vacuum elaborates and tightens the shock around what is left of the opposition.
In response to ECP’s decision, Ayub said at X that he was grateful for the opportunity to serve as a leader of the opposition in NA.
He expressed that his leader, Imran Khan and his colleagues had nominated him, he said he has been seated as mna na18 Haripur and opposition leader “due to a false judgment of ATC Faisalabad judge Sheikh Javed Iqbal, who has wrongly sentenced me for 10 years”.
Ayub also stated that the court “was dependent on the proof of prosecution quarters rejected by the ATC Sargodha judge last year and we were acquitted”. He said the verdict proves “that there is no rule of law in Pakistan”.
“This hybrid regime and its backers were disturbed by my stand as the leader of the opposition to indicate the truth and keep them in charge,” he claimed.
He promised to challenge both the ATC judgment and the ECP discrevin in court and expressed hope that Chief Justice Yahya Afridi would note what he called the “regrettable situation in Pakistan’s judiciary.”
Ayub ended up on a defensive note and said, “I was, I am, and I want to be a worker of Prime Minister Imran Khan and PTI”.
