ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Banking Court has summoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to appear on February 28 in the prohibited funding case.
The embezzled funding case against the PTI chief — who was ousted by a no-confidence motion in April — and other party leaders was heard under the Foreign Exchange Act in the Banking Court today.
Imran Khan’s lawyer Naeem Panjotha appeared in the court of Judge Rukhshanda Shaheen.
The lawyer told the judge that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had decided that Khan should appear in the banking court on February 28.
On behalf of Khan, he also submitted a copy of the IHC judgment to the banking court.
The court ordered the PTI chief to appear on February 28 in the light of the High Court verdict and adjourned the hearing till then.
Earlier this month, a division bench of the IHC rejected the former prime minister’s plea to attend the hearing through video link and directed him to appear in person before the banking court on February 28.
Khan had approached the IHC to stop the banking court from issuing an order in his case after the latter had summoned him on February 15 as his bail in the prohibited funding case was about to expire.
The IHC then ordered the banking court to suspend Khan’s interim bail order and extend an injunction against the banking court’s decision.
The PTI chief has been embroiled in several cases and was asked to appear before two separate benches of the Lahore High Court earlier this month as he sought anticipatory bail in a protest-related case. .
Khan, who was earlier reluctant to appear before the courts in person, arrived at the Lahore High Court on the night of February 20 to find a packed crowd waiting for him.
Despite arriving at 5pm, the PTI chief could not get down from his car till 7pm due to security concerns. Once he appeared before the benches – one granted him anticipatory bail in the Islamabad protest case and the other disposed of his second plea in the case related to the protest outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) after withdrawing his plea. gave
Meanwhile, on February 28 – the date Khan is scheduled to appear in the Banking Court – Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal will also hear the Tosha Khana case and is expected to charge him.
‘Medical report not reliable’
Later, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) filed an application in the banking court, seeking the formation of a medical board at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital or Polyclinic Hospital in Islamabad for a medical examination of Khan. Requested.
The FIA requested that the board’s medical report be submitted to the court.
FIA said that ‘Imran Khan has orthopedic problems but he is submitting the medical report issued by the cancer hospital.’ It was headed by the former Prime Minister himself.
“These medical reports cannot be considered credible,” the petition said, asking that Khan’s medical examination be conducted at PIMs or Polyclinic Hospital, which would be considered more reliable.
The probe agency also claimed that Khan was not cooperating with it regarding the investigation and added that the PTI chief’s bail plea was pending in the banking court.
However, the PTI chief has been taking “unfair advantage of his interim bail”, and has consistently failed to appear in court since being granted interim bail.
