Pakistan has always had trouble with it’s Prime Ministers and in the history of Pakistan, no Prime Minister has ever completed the 5-year tenure successfully. The same fate might befall Imran Khan, the current Prime Minister of Pakistan if this case doesn’t go his way.
On Monday, 11th March 2019, Lahore High Court is all set to hear seeking the disqualification of Imran Khan as the Prime Minister for not being “honest and righteous” and concealing the parentage of a daughter with a former partner in his nomination papers for the 2018 election. The petition claims that Imran Khan fathered a daughter, Tyrian Jade Khan White, and this was never revealed in his 2018 nomination papers.
Tyrian White is the daughter of Ana-Luisa (Sita) White, the daughter of the late Lord Gordon White. It has often been alleged that Tyrian is Imran Khan’s daughter, said a report in Dawn.
The petition demanding Imran Khan’s disqualification read, “Imran Khan did not mention White as one of his dependents in his nomination papers, and thus he does not measure up to Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution”.
This plea was accepted in the High Court on Saturday. The plea seeks the disqualification of Imran Khan under Articles 62 and 63 of Pakistan’s Constitution, that sets a precondition for a member of parliament to be “sadiq and ameen” (honest and righteous).
Articles 62 and 63 of the Pakistan Constitution were introduced by military ruler Ziaul Haq, and they effectively make the country more Islamic than it was under the constitution. The wordings of the articles are vague, giving a vast scope for interpretation. Section 62(1)(f) says “he is sagacious, righteous and non-profligate, Sadiq (truthful) and Ameen (honest)”, talking about the eligibility of Parliamentarians. The problem is, sadiq and ameen are two Arabic words which were never clearly defined in English, the language of the Pakistani constitution. And these words have been used to target politicians by opponents, mostly radical Islamists.
It can be noted that the former prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif had to resign due to this clause only. In 2017, Pakistan Supreme Court had declared that Nawaz Sharif was no longer sadiq and ameen as he had not disclosed certain facts in his nomination paper, and thus had disqualified him under the provisions of articles 62 and 63 of the constitution.
The silver lining for Imran Khan might be that earlier in the year, Islamabad High Court had dismissed a similar petition saying that these were personal matters and the petition was ‘non-maintainable’. However, if this case does not go his way, Imran Khan could be looking at a disqualification as Prime Minister.
Imran Khan, widely known as Imran ‘Taliban’ Khan for his stated and public sympathies with the Taliban and all things terrorism, has been married thrice. His third marriage was to Bushra, a mother of five and former wife of a government servant that was not devoid of controversy.
