Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan sought to challenge the legitimacy of his successor’s government on Wednesday, with his party sending evidence of alleged election rigging to a visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation assessing governance in the cash-strapped nation.
The move comes as the IMF conducts a broad corruption assessment of Pakistan’s institutions, adding international scrutiny to the political crisis that has deepened since Khan’s ouster in 2022 and subsequent imprisonment on multiple charges.
Opposition Leader Omar Ayub delivered a detailed dossier to the IMF team, claiming "systematic manipulation of the democratic process” in the recent elections that brought Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to power. The dossier includes a report from local NGO Pattan documenting alleged electoral irregularities.
The opposition’s appeal to the IMF coincides with the fund’s Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment mission, which has been meeting with key institutions including the judiciary. On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Chief Justice Yahya Afridi met with the IMF delegation before announcing that the Supreme Court would review a separate 365-page letter from Khan alleging constitutional violations and human rights abuses.
Khan’s party argues that economic stability is impossible without addressing what they call a breakdown in the rule of law. The dossier references Khan’s own meeting with IMF officials in July 2023, where he emphasized the connection between economic prosperity and constitutional governance.
IMF praises Pakistan’s reforms
The timing of the letter is significant, coming just hours after IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised Pakistan’s economic reforms during a meeting with Sharif at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. Georgieva had expressed encouragement about Pakistan’s commitment to reforms under its $7 billion loan program.
The government has consistently denied allegations of electoral manipulation, maintaining that the recent elections were free and fair. Sharif’s administration points to its progress on IMF-mandated reforms and improving economic indicators as evidence of its legitimate governance.
The IMF mission, led by resident representative Mahir Binici, is scheduled to conclude its assessment on February 14, with a broader review of Pakistan’s loan program set for early March.
