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A | Islamabad, Oct 21 (UNI) In a major legal victory for the ruling coalition on Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), in a consensus verdict in Toshakana reference, disqualified former prime minister Imran Khan and ruled that the PTI chairman is no more a member of National Assembly.
Criminal proceedings will be initiated against the PTI chairman for misdeclaration, the verdict said.
The ECP stated that Imran Khan submitted a false affidavit and was found involved in corrupt practices under Article 63(1)(p).
Under the said article, a lawmaker is disqualified for the time being from being elected or chosen as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament) or of a provincial assembly.
The decision was taken unanimously by the ECP’s five-member bench but the Punjab member Babar Hassan Bharwana was not present today as he was unwell.
"As sequel to our abovementioned findings, facts available on record and keeping in view the argument of learned counsel for parties herein, we are of the considered opinion that the Respondent has become disqualified under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution read with Section 137,167 and 173 of the Elections Act,2017, consequently he ceases to be a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and his seat has become vacant accordingly," the ECP order stated.
"As the respondent has made false statements and incorrect declarations, therefore he has also committed the offence of corrupt practices defined under Section 167 and 173 of the Elections Act,2017, punishable under Section 174 of the Elections Act, 2017. Office is directed to initiate legal proceedings and to take follow-up action under Section 190(2) of the Elections Act, 2017."
The verdict was announced amid tight security in the Red Zone where at least 1,100 police officials were deployed under the command of a senior superintendent of police to control the law and order situation in the area. The officer was assisted by five superintendents and six deputy superintendents of police.
The ECP had reserved its verdict in the Toshakhana case on September 19 after arguments were completed from both sides. A five-member bench of the ECP, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the case.
Fawad Chaudry said the Election Commission’s attitude had been the worst. “We never pinned any hopes on it.”
“This is a shameful decision. They have disgraced the 220-million-strong-nation.”
Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto said that the Election Commission of Pakistan has found Imran Khan guilty of corrupt practices and now stands disqualified.
“He who would spread lies about the alleged corruption of his political opponents has been caught red-handed," Bilawal said.
Moreover, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz demanded Imran Khan be arrested after he was found guilty of corrupt practices.
“Pakistan's first certified liar and certified thief disqualified with irrefutable evidence of theft,” the PML-N leader said.
She alleged that the husband and wife together looted the national kitty.
In August 2022, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf sent a reference to the ECP under Articles 62A, 63A, and 223, seeking former prime minister Imran Khan’s disqualification in the light of the Toshakhana scam, according to Geo news reports.
The disqualification reference was filed by Ali Gohar Khan, PML-N’s Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha, and five others.
The assessed value of the gifts has been put at Rs 142,042,100. The gifts were received between August 2018 and December 2021.
According to PML-N MNA Ranjha, Khan concealed information about the gift of watches by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in his statement of assets submitted in 2018-2019.
This withholding of information is tantamount to lying which, according to Ranjha, is a crime under Section 137.
UNI GNK。 SANTA FE, N.M. -- A judge on Friday ordered an attempted murder trial for a New Mexico man accused in the shooting of a Native American activist amid confrontations about aborted plans to reinstall a statue of a Spanish conquistador outside a government office.State District Court Judge Jason Lidyard found sufficient evidence to support charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon against 23-year-old Ryan David Martinez in connection with the shooting that was recorded by bystanders with cell phones and by surveillance cameras.Martinez was arrested on Sept. 28 after chaos erupted and a single shot was fired at an outdoor gathering in Española over canceled plans to install a bronze likeness of conquistador Juan de Oñate, who is both revered and reviled for his role in establishing early settlements along the Upper Rio Grande starting in 1598.The shooting wounded Jacob Johns, of Spokane, Washington, a well-traveled activist for environmental causes and an advocate for Native American rights who is of Hopi and Akimel O’odham tribal descent. Multiple videos show Martinez attempting to rush toward a shrine at the center of prayers and speeches in opposition to installing the statue on that spot — only for Martinez to be blocked physically by a group of men. Voices can be heard saying, “Let him go,” as Martinez retreats over a short wall, pulls a handgun from his waist and fires one shot.Lidyard said Martinez should have known he was provoking a crowd with contrary views who opposed the statue's installation as he repeatedly tried to push or rush past peaceful demonstrators. He highlighted that Martinez had arrived with a fully loaded, concealed handgun in a holster and had a second loaded handgun in his car with two additional loaded magazines of ammunition at hand.“Mr. Martinez’s intentional acts of attempting to enter into an area of counter protesters, whether or not it was a public area, would lead a reasonable person in his same circumstances to know that it would cause provocation,” Lidyard said at a county courthouse in rural northern New Mexico. That he “would intentionally provoke them while knowing full well that he was carrying a concealed firearm is sufficient to find probable cause for attempted murder in the first degree.”The ruling followed nearly five hours of testimony from law enforcement officers, including a sheriff’s deputy who says Martinez repeatedly directed an expetive at him and people around him without obvious provocation. Eyewitnesses testimony was also provided, including from a 23-year-old woman who said Martinez leveled the gun at her after wounding Johns.Martinez, of Sandia Park, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Defense attorney Nicole Moss said her client came to take pictures with his cell phone, never hid his identity and was shoved to the ground by several larger men.“Fearing for his life because he was so outnumbered by all these men, he pulled his firearm that he possessed lawfully — he had a concealed carry permit — and he fired one shot at Mr. Johns in self-defense,” she said.The judge also ordered that Martinez remain incarcerated while awaiting trail, citing a long list of safety concerns, some based on newly revealed evidence that Martinez appeared to be converting semi-automatic guns at home to automatic weapons and was building untraceable gun parts at home using a 3D printer. State police also interviewed a former neighbor of Martinez who told them he saw Martinez out at night in a residential neighborhood dressed in body armor with an assault-style rifle and handgun.The judge said he also weighed in violent threats Martinez made against the U.S. Federal Reserve banking system on social media as early as 2018, noting Martinez the FBI warned him in 2020 to refrain from further threatening behavior.Johns remains in fragile health at a hospital in Albuquerque, according to his mother LaVerne McGrath, who attended Friday's hearing. She fought back tears during witness testimony and repeated viewings of videos of the shooting.“I'm sad but I'm really honored for all of the support that's been given to this community, to my son,” she said. “He's got people from around the world joining hands.”Five of Martinez's relatives, including his father, attended the proceedings but declined to comment. They gathered in a circle to pray during one court recess.。
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