Pakistan Poll Body Disqualifies Shah Mahmood Qureshi From Contesting Polls For 5 Years

Islamabad: Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a key ally of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has been disqualified by Pakistan’s election commission from participating in elections for the next five years. This decision follows Qureshi’s recent 10-year prison sentence in a high-profile case involving the leaking of state secrets.

The announcement, just five days before the general elections on February 8, adds to the challenges faced by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which is navigating the political landscape amid a state crackdown and the absence of its trademark election symbol, the bat.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) cited a special court’s judgment dated January 30, 2024, under the Official Secrets Act, stating that any convicted individual is barred from contesting elections per the Constitution and the law. Consequently, Qureshi is disqualified under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution, read with Section 232 of the Elections Act, 2017.

The cypher case revolves around a diplomatic cable, referred to as the cipher, that Imran Khan presented at a rally on March 27, 2022. Khan claimed it was evidence of an international conspiracy to overthrow his government, naming the US in the process. The case, filed against Khan and Qureshi on August 15, 2023, by the Federal Investigation Agency, accuses them of violating secrecy laws while handling the cable from the Pakistan embassy in Washington.