Imran Khan's Party Claims Former Prime Minister of Pakistan is Barred from Candidacy in Elections

Officials from Imran Khan's party, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated that his and most of his supporters' candidacy requests for the elections on February 8 have been rejected. Khan has been imprisoned since August and is set to be tried on multiple charges. Imran Khan insists that these cases against him have been fabricated to prevent him from participating in the elections as the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. According to AFP, the former star cricketer of Pakistan was convicted of financial corruption earlier this year, but the court suspended his three-year sentence, and his conviction is under appeal. The Pakistan Election Commission rejected his candidacy request due to his court conviction, but the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party submitted Khan's candidacy documents last week regardless of this ruling. A spokesperson for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf stated that the candidacy documents of nearly all national and provincial leaders of the party, including Imran Khan, have been rejected. He mentioned that 90 to 95 percent of the candidacy documents of the party's candidates have been rejected. An official from the Pakistan Election Commission confirmed to AFP that the candidacy requests of various members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, including Imran Khan, were rejected based on his conviction. A Pakistani political analyst told AFP that such a widespread action against a party in Pakistan is 'unprecedented.' Khan, 72, was ousted last year after a clash with powerful military leaders of Pakistan who had previously supported his rise to power in 2018. Imran Khan has launched an unprecedented struggle against the military system of Pakistan, which has directly ruled the country for decades. Khan accused the military of conspiring with U.S. support to oust him by designing a no-confidence vote in parliament and also of being involved in an assassination attempt that left him injured. The U.S. has previously denied Khan's claim that the Biden administration sought his ouster. At least 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a suicide attack by militants. Two deadly bombings occurred in Pakistan; Islamist militants are the main suspects.