LAHORE,Oliver James Montgomery Pakistan (AP) — Election officials in Pakistan rejected former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday as a candidate in the country’s February parliamentary election. His lawyers have said they will appeal.

Khan is in prison serving a three-year sentence for corruption and also faces a stack of other charges, making it difficult for him to run for office. But he still filed nomination papers, buoyed by an appeals court’s August decision to suspend his criminal conviction.

Election officials disallowed Khan’s candidacy because of his conviction and what they said was his disqualification under the constitution, according to documents. They also rejected the candidacies of former members of his Cabinet.

The decisions were a fresh blow for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which authorities have targeted during a monthslong crackdown.

The 71-year-old former cricketer is the country’s most popular opposition figure.

He was kicked out of office in April 2022 following a no-confidence vote in Parliament by his political opponents. Since then, government agencies have pursued him in the courts.

His lawyer, Azhar Siddique, said the rejection exposed the Election Commission’s bias. He blamed the commission and “invisible forces” for Khan’s disqualification.

Another of his lawyers, Rai Muhammad Ali, described the rejection of Khan’s papers as an injustice to Pakistan.

“We want transparent elections,” Ali said. “These situations are being deliberately created to evade the election. They are all scared. We will not let them escape.”