By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Election Commission (ECP) on Tuesday disqualified several high-profile lawmakers of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, including the opposition leaders in the Senate and National Assembly, after their convictions in cases linked to the violent May 9 riots
The move, which targets key figures from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and the allied Sunni Ittehad Council, has vacated legislative seats and heightening political tensions in an already polarized political landscape.
Among those disqualified are Omar Ayub Khan, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, Shibli Faraz, the opposition leader in the Senate, and Sunni Ittehad Council chief Hamid Raza. Other affected PTI lawmakers include MNA Zartaj Gul, MNA Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan, MPA Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, MPA Junaid Afzal Sahi, and MPA Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal, alongside Rai Haider Kharal.
The ECP’s notification cited Article 63(1h) of the Constitution, which bars individuals convicted of offenses involving “moral turpitude” and sentenced to at least two years in prison from holding elected office.
The disqualifications follow rulings last week by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad, where over 100 PTI leaders and workers were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for their roles in the May 9, 2023, riots. Those protests erupted across Pakistan after the arrest of PTI founder Khan, with angry crowds ransacking military installations, setting fire to state buildings, and storming the Lahore corps commander’s residence. Thousands, including party leaders, were arrested in the crackdown that followed.
The Faisalabad court convicted the lawmakers under Sections 109 and 120-B of the Pakistan Penal Code, covering abetment and criminal conspiracy. In one case, linked to FIR No. 1277/2023 at Ghulam Muhammadabad police station, 60 of 67 accused were convicted, while seven were acquitted. In another, tied to FIR No. 832/2023 at Civil Lines police station, 107 of 108 received 10-year sentences of rigorous imprisonment, with one person sentenced to three years; the judge acquitted 77 others, noting the prosecution failed to prove charges against them. A third case, FIR No. 835/2023, also resulted in convictions, though specific numbers were not detailed in the ruling.
Sheikh Rashid Shafique, nephew of former interior minister Sheikh Rashid, Kanwal Shauzab, Farah Agha, and Muhammad Ahmad Chattha were among those sentenced to 10 years. The judge issued arrest warrants for convicted individuals absent from court, ordering police to apprehend them for imprisonment. However, notable PTI figures, former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry, MNA Zain Qureshi (son of PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi), MPA Khayal Ahmad Kastro, and Faizullah Kamuka, were acquitted in all three cases.
Tuesday’s disqualifications follow a flurry of similar ECP actions against PTI members. On July 29, MNA Abdul Latif lost his NA-1 seat, while on July 28, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, MNA Mohammad Ahmed Chatta, and MPA Ahmad Khan were stripped of their positions. Last year, on December 21 and 26, a military court sentenced over 50 PTI leaders and activists, including Imran Khan’s nephew Hassaan Niazi, to up to 10 years for their roles in the riots. The rapid pace of these decisions has fueled speculation about political motives.
The ATCs have been racing to conclude May 9-related trials by August, a deadline set by the Supreme Court, holding daily hearings to clear the backlog of cases. The urgency reflects the gravity of the riots, which exposed deep fissures in Pakistan’s political and military establishments. The PTI has decried the disqualifications as a calculated effort to silence dissent, vowing legal challenges.
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