Five days after Imran Khan personally won six out of the seven National Assembly seats he contested in Pakistan, the country’s Election Commission has disqualified him from either remaining or being chosen as a member of Parliament.
Mr. Khan has called on his supporters to protest the controversial decision just as his party said they would pursue a legal challenge against the Commission’s order.
Many analysts are drawing parallels between the October 21st disqualification and a similar action against then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017 when the country’s Supreme Court stated that Mr. Sharif could not hold office as he had been dishonest.
Are there parallels between the two decisions? Is the unseen hand of Pakistan’s permanent establishment again at work? What impact will this have on the country’s politics?