Imran calls on Tareen

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan today called on the his ally and PTI's general secretary Jahangir Tareen in Islamabad. 

Yesterday, the Supreme Court dismissed a graft case against PTI Chairman, ensuring he will contest a general election due next year, just months after the same body ousted ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The top court, however, disqualified Tehreen on charges he failed to disclose assets.

Tareen has been barred from holding public office under Article 62 (1) (f) of the constitution, which sets the precondition for a lawmaker to be "sadiq and ameen" (truthful and honest).

Imran had faced being disqualified from holding political office over charges including unreported assets, namely the funds he used to buy a scenic, sprawling property in the Bani Gala hills on the outskirts of Islamabad.

He has dismissed the claims as a political vendetta, saying he used money earned from his career as one of Pakistan's most famous World Cup cricketers to buy the land and that he has the documentation to prove it.

"No omission or dishonesty can be attributed to him. This petition has no merits and is dismissed accordingly," Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar said, reading from the judgement to a packed courtroom.

Shortly after the judgement Imran Khan held a press conference in Karachi where he told reporters "Pakistan's highest court has exonerated me".

The court also ruled that the ECP will impartially investigate the foreign funding claims against the PTI chief by scrutinising accounts up till five years ago.

The judgment stated that Imran wasn't bound to declare his offshore company, declared his London flat in an amnesty scheme and that his former wife Jemima gave him the funds for buying the Bani Gala estate.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt