Imran Khan demands high treason proceedings against Pak poll mandate thieves
Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has sought high treason proceedings against officials who allegedly stole the people's mandate in the February general elections.
Khan's remarks came as he spoke to reporters on Saturday after the hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case in which his wife Bushra Bibi, aide Farah Gogi and property tycoon Malik Riaz are also implicated.
The February 8 elections in Pakistan were marred by the allegations of vote rigging.
Though more than 90 independent candidates backed by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the maximum number of seats in the National Assembly, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto struck a post-poll deal and formed a coalition government in the country.
PTI says the new government was formed by stealing its mandate.
Khan on Saturday claimed that his party bagged over 30 million votes whereas the rest of the 17 political parties jointly secured the same number of votes, Dawn newspaper reported.
He said his party took up the irregularities in polls with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and that non-government organisations also pointed out flaws in the electoral process.
Meanwhile, a protest was held outside the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in the US against the alleged rigging in the polls.
Khan, 71, in his remarks, endorsed the demonstration outside the IMF office but distanced himself from the anti-Army slogans raised by the protesters.
"First, the PTI was denied its electoral symbol of bat under a conspiracy and then the former ruling party was deprived of its share of reserved seats," Khan said, as he sought high treason proceedings against officials who stole the people's mandate.
The theft of the mandate was akin to treason, which attracted Article 6 of the Constitution, the cricketer-turned-politician said.
He said the order of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on reserved seats would be challenged in the Supreme Court, adding that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) could not allocate PTI's seats to other political parties.
In a huge blow to PTI, the PHC on Thursday unanimously rejected the Sunni Ittehad Council's petition challenging the election commission's decision to allocate reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial legislatures meant for it to other parties.
PTI-backed independents, who won the February 8 elections, joined the Sunni Ittehad Council, a political alliance of Islamic political and Barelvi religious parties in Pakistan, to get a share of the reserved seats.
Khan said the February 8 election was a fixed match in which the "ECP and the caretaker gov e rnment were hand in glove".
A few political parties and the establishment "sabotaged the plan to bring in electronic voting", he said.
Khan also termed the upcoming Senate polls a fixed match'. Elections for the Senate, the upper house of the bicameral parliament, will take place on April 2.
In response to a question about whether the ties with the government were healing, Khan replied that reconciliation depended on the fair audit of elections.
Khan said that the incu m bent government was not sus tainable because of the fragile economy. He rejected the criticism that the PTI left the country on the verge of default.
According to the former premier, the PML-N left a USD 20 billion deficit in 2018 and there was no other option available but to approach the IMF.
Khan said the incumbent government had no mandate to carry out structural reforms. He advised the government to seek loans if it could repay the debt.
During the hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust case, Khan's counsel concluded the cross-examination of a prosecution witness, who was the chief financial officer of Al-Qadir University.
The Al-Qadir Trust case is about the settlement of 190 million pounds, about Rs 50 billion, which the UK's National Crime Agency sent to Pakistan after recovering the amount from a Pakistani property tycoon.
Khan, being the prime minister then, instead of depositing in the national treasury, allowed the businessman (Riaz) to use the amount to partly settle a fine of about Rs 450 billion imposed by the Supreme Court some years ago.
Reportedly, the tycoon, in return, gifted about 57 acres of land to a trust set up by Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to establish the Al-Qadir University in the Sohawa area of the Jhelum district of Punjab.
Accountability judge Nasir Javed Rana also recorded the statement of another prosecution witness.
During the hearing, Khan, Bushra Bibi, her daughter and son-in-law were also present in the courtroom. The case was adjourned till March 20.
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Deep societal faultlines persist despite 75 years of independence: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
Judge cites denial of home to Muslim girl, opposition to Dalit women cooking mid-day meals
Hyderabad, February 23, 2026: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has said that despite repeated affirmations of constitutional morality by courts, deep societal faultlines rooted in caste and religious discrimination continue to shape everyday realities in India.
Speaking at a seminar on “Constitutional Morality and the Role of District Judiciary” organised by the Telangana Judges Association and the Telangana State Judicial Academy in Hyderabad, Justice Bhuyan reflected on the gap between constitutional ideals and social practices.
He cited a recent instance involving his daughter’s friend, a PhD scholar at a private university in Noida, who was denied accommodation in South Delhi after her surname revealed her Muslim identity. According to Justice Bhuyan, the landlady bluntly informed her that no accommodation was available once her religious background became known.
In another example from Odisha, he referred to resistance by some parents to the government’s mid-day meal programme because the food was prepared by Dalit women employed as cooks. He noted that some parents had objected aggressively and refused to allow their children to consume meals cooked by members of the Scheduled Caste community.
Describing these incidents as “the tip of the iceberg,” Justice Bhuyan said they reveal how far society remains from the benchmark of constitutional morality even 75 years into the Republic. He observed that while the Constitution lays down standards of equality and dignity, the morality practised within homes and communities often diverges sharply from those values.
He emphasised that constitutional morality requires governance through the rule of law rather than the rule of popular opinion. Referring to the evolution of the doctrine through judicial decisions, he cited Naz Foundation v Union of India, in which the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, holding that popular morality cannot restrict fundamental rights under Article 21. Though the judgment was later overturned in Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation, the Supreme Court ultimately restored and expanded the principle in Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India, affirming that constitutional morality must prevail over majoritarian views.
“In our constitutional scheme, it is the constitutionality of the issue before the court that is relevant, not the dominant or popular view,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also addressed the functioning of the district judiciary, underlining that trial courts are the first point of contact for most litigants and form the foundation of the justice delivery system. He stressed that due importance must be given to the recording of evidence and adjudication of bail matters.
Highlighting the role of High Courts, he said their supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution is intended as a shield to correct grave jurisdictional errors, not as a mechanism to substitute the discretion or factual appreciation of trial judges.
He recalled that several distinguished judges, including Justice H R Khanna, Justice A M Ahmadi, and Justice Fathima Beevi, began their careers in the district judiciary.
On representation within the judicial system, Justice Bhuyan noted that Telangana has made significant strides in gender inclusion. Out of a sanctioned strength of 655 judicial officers in the Telangana Judicial Service, 478 are currently serving, of whom 283 are women, exceeding 50 per cent representation. He added that members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities, and persons with disabilities are also represented in the state’s judiciary.
He observed that greater representation of women, marginalised communities, persons with disabilities, and sexual minorities would help make the judiciary more inclusive and reflective of India’s diversity. “The judiciary must represent all the colours of the rainbow and become a rainbow institution,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also referred to the recent restoration by the Supreme Court of the requirement of a minimum three years of practice at the Bar for entry-level judicial posts. While acknowledging that the requirement ensures practical exposure, he cautioned that its impact on women aspirants, especially those from rural or small-town backgrounds facing social and financial constraints, would need to be carefully observed over time.
Concluding his address, he reiterated that the justice system must strive to bridge the gap between constitutional ideals and lived realities, ensuring that the rule of law remains paramount.
