ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday annulled the decision of the trial court which rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s plea to declare the Toshakhana case inadmissible. was given
Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamir Farooq delivered the verdict on the PTI chief’s petition, which was reserved on June 23.
Pronouncing the summary judgment, the judge remanded the matter to the trial court, ordering that PTI’s counsel’s arguments be reheard and reconsidered.
The IHC, while delivering the verdict, asked the trial court to decide within 7 days on the request of the PTI chairman in the Toshakhana case.
Khan was indicted in the Toshakhana case on May 10 by Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar, who overruled objections regarding the admissibility of the case.
The PTI chief then approached the IHC, which stayed criminal proceedings in the case till June 8.
After the hearing resumed in June, Justice Aamir reserved judgment on the petition on June 23, saying he would look into the matter after Eid-ul-Adha.
In his petition, the PTI chairman objected to filing the complaint after the prescribed period.
His lawyer Khawaja Haris said that a complaint can be filed within four months of submitting the return.
However, a day earlier, the PTI chief filed an application in the court, seeking to recuse Justice Aamir from the case.
In the plea, the former prime minister – who was ousted from power by a no-confidence motion in April last year – sought transfer of the two Toshakhana cases to another bench in the interest of a “fair and impartial” trial.
The District Election Commission has also been named as a respondent in the application.
Speaking to mediapersons outside the IHC, PTI chief’s lawyer Gauhar Khan termed the verdict as a “victory”.
“An appeal was filed against the judgment of the Sessions Judge in the Toshakhana case,” he said, adding that the wrong person filed the complaint.
He said that we were fighting the case in the courts for a year, today PTI has won.
What is Toshakhana case?
Under the rules governing the “toshakhana” – a Persian word meaning “treasure chest” – government officials can keep gifts if they are of little value, while they can be given dramatically to the government for extravagant items. But you have to pay less fee.
Toshakhana has been under a microscope ever since allegations surfaced that the PTI chief bought the gifts he received as prime minister at exorbitant rates and sold them in the open market for huge profits.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of abusing his prime ministership from 2018 to 2022 by buying and selling state-owned gifts received during overseas trips worth 140 million rupees ($635,000). ) was greater than
Among the gifts were watches given by a royal family, according to government officials, who had previously alleged that Khan’s aides had sold them in Dubai.
The gifts included seven wristwatches, six by watchmaker Rolex, and the most expensive was a “Mastergraph Limited Edition” worth 85 million Pakistani rupees ($385,000).
The Election Commission’s order said that Imran Khan is disqualified under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution.
Following the order, the election watchdog approached the Islamabad sessions court seeking criminal proceedings against him – and the PTI chief missed several hearings.
