Imran Khan could be in trouble over illegitimate daughter

ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan- arguably the most charismatic of Pakistan’s politicians seems to have made a lot of powerful enemies who could be coming together to land him in serious trouble. And they are armed with a weapon he is silent about- the allegation that he fathered an illegitimate daughter in 1992. Admitting to the child’s paternity could disqualify him from holding public office.

Khan’s enemy No. 1 these days is former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s son Arsalan Iftikhar, who is reportedly banking on foreign documentary evidence for a strong reference against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman for his disqualification from Parliament under Articles 62 and 63.

The former CJ’s son has started applying to obtain some legal documents from United States and other European countries. Arsalan has disclosed that he would apply to obtain the copy of a judgment of the Superior Court of California- declaring Imran Khan as a legal father of a girl.

Khan’s abundance of gifts and good looks has always attracted jealousy and controversy.

At the start of his cricketing career in Pakistan, Khan had to fend off rumours that he secured his place on various teams through nepotism (eight of his cousins played first-class cricket and two relatives, Javid Burki and Majid Khan, captained the Pakistan side).

His confessions of ball-tampering provoked huge publicity, as did his playboy reputation. Throughout the Seventies, Eighties and early Nineties, Khan squired around some of the Western world’s most desirable women. 

News agency UNI reports that Imran Khan had a relationship with Sita White, who lived in Beverly Hills in 1987-88.

According to White’s attorney Gloria Allred, when the two met again in Los Angeles on October 2, 1991, Sita White told Imran Khan, she wanted to have his baby.A baby girl- Tyrian Jade was born on June 15, 1992, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Since her birth, Khan reportedly neither saw nor spoke to the child although he and White spoke periodically during that period.

During his quest to become prime minister of Pakistan, Khan denied having fathered an illegitimate child, which could have made him ineligible.

A Los Angeles court had on Aug 13, 1997 ruled that Imran Khan was the legal father of an illegitimate southern California girl. The Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Anthony Jones issued the default judgment after Khan refused to take a paternity test and his attorneys failed to show up for the court proceeding.

News agency Associated Press reported that on Aug 14, 1997, Imran Khan issued a statement in London, where he said he would submit to a blood test in his native Pakistan to settle the paternity dispute. “It is simply not possible for me to travel the world fighting court cases in every country. As I do not live in California or in England, my response is to welcome Sita White to Pakistan where I live. And I would more than welcome the opportunity to present my side of the story in a Pakistani court, rather than conducting an undignified trial by media. I will of course be prepared to submit to a blood test in Pakistan and will fully stand by the decision of the competent Pakistani courts,” Khan said. 

The ghosts of his past seem to be back to haunt him now. Imran Khan has upset many in the current dispensation with his unrelenting accusations against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for what he alleges was a rigged election in 2013 that brought Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N to power.

He has been demanding that all members of the ECP step down. Likewise Khan wants the ouster of Ayaz Sadiq- The Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, through verification of voters’ thumb impressions in National Assembly seat, NA-122 Lahore, along with three other constituencies. Khan lost the elections to Ayaz from that seat in the 2013 general elections and continues to allege that it was rigged.

Imran Khan is also a thorn in the flesh of the ruling PML-N government right now because he has announced the million tsunami march on Independence Day in Islamabad to unnerve the government.

But the man who has made it his mission to end the political career of Imran Khan is Arsalan Iftikhar- the son of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The reason for this is that Khan along with other politicians had criticised the appointment of Arsalan Iftikhar as Vice Chairman of the Balochistan Board of Investment. The strong criticism had forced Arsalan to tender his resignation from the post within weeks. It appears, the slighted Arsalan has decided to avenge the insult. 

He said, he would be trying to obtain copies of the court verdict related to Imran Khan’s paternity suit in his private capacity.

“I do not have any official status or government post therefore I would apply for the copy of verdict privately. I have a lot of material against PTI chief, including some very important affidavits originally signed by him and some other important documents, which I would reveal on appropriate time. I am collecting all this to make sure a strong reference against Imran Khan which would be submitted to the Speaker National Assembly,” Arsalan said.

The News reports that Arsalan has accused Imran Khan of not being honest and trustworthy. He did not fulfil the criteria of peoples’ representative under article 62 and 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan, he alleged. 

Article 62 of the Constitution states that a person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Parliament unless (d) he is of good character and is not commonly known as one who violates Islamic Injunctions; (e) he has adequate knowledge of Islamic teachings and practices obligatory duties prescribed by Islam as well as abstains from major sins; (f) he is sagacious, righteous and non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law.

Similarly, Article 63(2) of the Constitution explains the process of disqualification of a member: “If any question arises whether a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) has become disqualified from being a member, the Speaker or, as the case may be, the chairman shall, unless he decides that no such question has arisen, refer the question to the Election Commission within 30 days and should he fail to do so within the aforesaid period, it shall be deemed to have been referred to the Election Commission.

In his press conference Arsalan further alleged and raised serious doubts on Imran Khan’s credibility to be elected as Parliamentarian and therefore he has sought the details of the PTI chief’s nomination from the ECP. 

Ironically for Imran Khan, his two prime targets- the Election Commission of Pakistan and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, will now sit in judgement to decide his fate as MP while adjudicating upon a disqualification reference being filed by Dr Arsalan Iftikhar.

A majority of PTI leaders, who otherwise want to strongly condemn Arsalan, prefer not to respond at all now, so they don’t get embroiled in the sticky issues connected with the paternity case. 

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