Toshakhana order

In a not-that-unexpected verdict, the Islamabad High Court has suspended PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s sentence in the Toshakhana case. That said, by most legal opinion, his conviction and disqualification remain intact until the court decides on the main appeal. On Tuesday, the IHC announced the short verdict that it had reserved a day earlier, directing the authorities to release the PTI chief on bail. The release though may not be as easy as getting a verdict. Imran is likely to remain in prison at Attock Jail since he has also been ‘arrested’ – while he was serving his sentence in Toshakhana case – in what is colloquially called the cipher case, registered under the Official Secrets Act. Earlier this month, a district and sessions court in the federal capital had sentenced Imran to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs100,000, after finding him guilty of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana case. During his incarceration, the FIA had officially arrested him under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

Tuesday’s order naturally led to a debate about the PTI chief’s disqualification and whether it remains intact or not. There are lawyers who say that a suspended sentence means there will be a mistrial and thus his disqualification doesn’t stand. That view seems to be a minority opinion though, with most other legal experts of the opinion that as long as Imran’s conviction is in place, he will remain disqualified as per previous verdicts of the Supreme Court. This seems to be the case according to most legal experts who say that, while the disqualification issue is opposed by many in the legal fraternity, unfortunately previous judgements support the disqualification remaining intact unless a conviction is reversed and overturned; we have seen similar opinion when it comes to Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification as well. The legal woes of Imran Khan seem to be unending, despite Tuesday’s order by the IHC, given that he has been re-arrested in the cipher case and will not be released despite bail orders in the Toshakhana case. Simultaneously, his party’s political and legal woes too see no signs of abating. Not only is Imran behind bars but PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi is also behind bars and most of the party’s senior leadership is in hiding while others have left the party.

There has been concern among both legal eagles and human rights activists that this tradition of arresting and then re-arresting PTI leaders is a cause for worry and has far deeper repercussions for Pakistan’s fragile rights realm. These concerns are not getting much notice by a government and a state that seems to have decided it will continue on this path. Political observers are sure that Imran Khan will remain in jail for the near future – the main reason being to keep him out of the electoral race. How that translates into ‘free and fair elections’ is a mystery to anyone who believes in democratic traditions. Already the fact that elections are most possibly not being held within the 90-day limit makes the whole process suspect, and also damages our constitution, our democracy, and any pretensions we may have of being a country that believes in the people’s mandate.