Pakistani court rejects ex-premier's plea to withdraw his appeal in assets case

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - A Pakistani court on Wednesday rejected the former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s request to withdraw his appeal against his disqualification by the country’s Election Commission last year.

Last year in October, the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified Khan in a case of failing to disclose gifts he received while serving as the country's premier.

Later, Khan approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and filed an appeal against the Election Commission’s decision.

However, in January, Khan requested the Islamabad High Court to withdraw his appeal.

After 11 months, the IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq turned down Khan's request to withdraw his appeal.

The former cricket star, who is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail, was arrested in August, and many of the cases against him have been tried in prison.

Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were also indicted in a state secrets case, known as the “cipher case,” last month. Both have pleaded not guilty.

The indictment and proceedings in jail later were turned down as “illegal” by IHC.

The case is related to diplomatic communications between Washington and Islamabad, which Khan alleges was part of a US conspiracy to topple his government last year.

On Monday, the former premier asked a special court to summon a US embassy representative and a retired army general in the "cipher case."

Khan, who served as prime minister of Pakistan from 2018-2022, lost a vote of confidence in parliament in April 2022, one year short of completing his term.