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This Article is From Jan 31, 2024

Explained: How Imran Khan's Conviction Will Influence Pakistan Elections

Imran Khan, 71, was already barred from holding public office for five years following an earlier graft conviction, which ruled him out of next week's polls.

Explained: How Imran Khan's Conviction Will Influence Pakistan Elections
Imran Khan's absence has already left his party in disarray. (File)
Karachi:

Pakistan - Former Pakistani Prime Minister and cricket star Imran Khan was jailed for 14 years on Wednesday on charges of illegally selling state gifts, a day after he received a 10-year sentence for leaking state secrets.

The convictions come days before a national election scheduled for Feb. 8.

Here are some facts on how these sentences influence his political future, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, and the upcoming election:

- Imran Khan, 71, was already barred from holding public office for five years following an earlier graft conviction, which ruled him out of next week's polls.

- Wednesday's sentence extends that ban on Imran Khan from holding public office to 10 years, which means he could not be Prime Minister again until 2034.

- The convictions also mean Imran Khan, in jail since August, will not be able to come out of jail to campaign for his party's candidates in the election.

- Imran Khan's absence has already left his party in disarray, with many key aides jailed, on the run, or having abandoned him in the face of a spate of legal challenges.

- There are a number of candidates backed by Imran Khan and his party that are contesting next week's election, but there are no big political names to carry his party in his absence.

- Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is temporarily being led by a little-known lawyer, Gohar Ali Khan, who is also Imran Khan's legal counsel.

- On Jan. 14, Imran Khan's party was stripped of its traditional electoral symbol of a cricket bat in a court ruling, which means his candidates are contesting as independents.

- Even if Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed candidates win, as independents they are not bound to stay with the party and are open to joining other parties - and Imran Khan remaining in jail for the foreseeable future increases the chances of this.

- The support of victorious independent candidates in the aftermath of the polls will be crucial for any party vying to secure the numbers necessary in parliament to form a government.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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