Setback for Imran Khan as Pak poll body rejects nomination papers for 2024 election

Islamabad: The Pakistani Election Commission’s disapproval of PTI founder Imran Khan’s candidacy papers for the imminent general elections has hit him hard, particularly as they were submitted in Mianwali, his home territory. Surprisingly, this happened even though he has already been barred from competing. Doubts surrounding Khan’s eligibility for politics are now on the rise following the Election Commission’s latest move, as per a report by news agency ANI.

Imran Khan had his nomination papers submitted for the National Assembly’s NA-89 constituency. PTI leader Umar Bodla appeared on the former prime minister’s behalf. The PTI founder, a 70-year-old former international cricket star, has been at the centre of a political crisis since he was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022.

The cricketer-turned-politician was sent to jail for three years on August 5 after being found guilty of selling state gifts during his 2018–22 tenure as prime minister—the charges he denies, Geo News reported.