The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa election commissioner has directed returning officers of various districts to ensure the recovery of unpaid fines from political leaders, including former PTI chief Imran Khan, during the scrutiny of their nomination papers, direction the rejection of candidacies of anyone failing to do so.
In a letter to returning officers, the provincial election commissioner has listed 62 politicians from Punjab and KP, including over 30 from KP alone, who owe fines ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 50,000 for each offense. It states that the former PTI chief owes Rs. 200,000 for four separate violations that occurred in March 2022, shortly before he was ousted as prime minister in a vote of no-confidence.
Also among the offenders is former KP chief minister Mahmood Khan—who is now a member of the PTI Parliamentarians—with an outstanding fine of Rs. 150,000. Additionally, PTI’s Murad Saeed, Azam Khan Swati, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Kamran Bangash, and Shaukat Ali Yousafzai also owe fines to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam; Muhammad Ishtiaq of the PTI; and Amjad Khan Afridi also owe fines.
These offenses, per the ECP, were conducted during various earlier elections to the National Assembly, provincial assembly and local government. It said their appeals against the fines had also already been rejected.
The scrutiny process of candidates is currently ongoing, with the process to conclude on Saturday (Dec. 30). Subsequently, potential candidates would have until Jan. 3 to file appeals against decisions of the returning officers, with Jan. 10 as the last date for deciding of appeals by an appellate tribunal. The revised list of candidates would be published on Jan. 11, and any candidates wishing to withdraw their candidature would have to do so by Jan. 12.