Amidst his ongoing legal challenges, which have led to multiple convictions in various cases, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has reportedly rejected the idea of seeking a presidential pardon from President Arif Alvi, as reported by The News on Tuesday.
According to PTI’s Information Secretary Raoof Hasan, Khan has communicated to President Alvi that he does not wish to entertain any requests for pardons related to his convictions, despite calls from various quarters, including social media.
While highlighting the constitutional power of the president to grant pardons for sentences issued by courts, Hasan emphasized that Khan firmly opposes any such pardon.
Despite the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspending Khan’s sentence in the Toshakhana case last year, the PTI founder was subsequently convicted in three separate cases: the Toshakhana case by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), cipher case, and an un-Islamic nikah case, resulting in sentences of 14, 10, and seven years, respectively.
However, under Article 45 of the Constitution, the president holds the authority to pardon, reprieve, or suspend any sentence issued by a court, tribunal, or other authority. The article states: “The President shall have the power to grant pardon, reprieve and respite, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority.”
While some constitutional experts argue that the president can only pardon, remit, or suspend sentences on the advice of the prime minister, others contend that the president can exercise this power independently without the prime minister’s advice.
Last year in August, following Imran Khan’s conviction in the Toshakhana case by a district court in Islamabad, senior lawyer Latif Khosa clarified that the president, either at his own discretion or on the advice of the prime minister, can pardon or remit sentences under Article 45.
Khosa noted that there are no restrictions on the president’s authority to grant pardons, adding that this power is commonly held by heads of state worldwide.
After PTI-supported candidates secured surprise victories in the general elections, demands from party supporters for President Alvi to pardon Khan started surfacing.
It should be noted that both Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, who was also sentenced in the Toshakhana and un-Islamic nikah cases alongside the former prime minister, have challenged all three convictions in the Islamabad High Court.
