Imran Khan, a former Pakistani prime minister, has been barred from running for office for five years, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced on Tuesday.
Khan has been prohibited as a result of his conviction and three-year prison term last week in a corruption trial, according to the statement.
The trial is connected to an investigation by the electoral commission, which concluded that Khan had sold official gifts for an illegal price while he was prime minister from 2018 to 2022.
After the court’s decision on Saturday, Khan was detained at his residence in Lahore and taken to the capital Islamabad.
The populist politician who used to play for the Australian cricket team has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Over the weekend, his PTI party claimed that the Supreme Court has received an appeal against the ruling.
Prior to being detained on Saturday, Khan urged his supporters to engage in nonviolent demonstrations in order to protect their “freedom and human rights.” He claimed that he was engaged in this “struggle” for the “future of Pakistan’s children.”
The 70-year-old Khan was deposed in a no-confidence vote in the parliament last year and has since led a populist campaign against the current administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, claiming that it conspired with senior military figures to depose him and bar him from politics.
The Pakistani authorities claimed that the reason for his arrest was political or an effort to prevent him from voting in elections later this year.
Violent altercations between his fans and police broke out after his arrest and temporary detention on a separate matter in May. Additionally, several prominent party figures were detained.