ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has adjourned the hearing on the petition challenging the conviction of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case till 11.30 am tomorrow (Friday).
Advocate Latif Khosa represented the PTI chief in the IHC after lawyer Khawaja Haris left the PTI chief’s legal team.
On Thursday, a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Amir Farooq and Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri heard the petition of the PTI chief against the Toshakhana decision.
At the start of the hearing, Khosa pleaded with the court to suspend the PTI chief’s sentence on three grounds, one of which was that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to hear the Toshakhana case.
He claimed that the Sessions Court had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal of the ECP.
“It [ECP] should have resolved the issue of jurisdiction first.”
He said that the election body can authorize one of its officers to file a complaint.
He further said that in this matter, the ECP Secretary asked the District Election Commissioner to file a complaint.
The lawyer added that the ECP did not take permission before filing the complaint. On this, ECP’s lawyer Amjad Pervez said that the permission of ECP to file the complaint is on record.
However, Khosa replied that the permission was given by the Election Commission secretary, which was not legal.
The High Court referred the petition to the trial court for a fresh decision, saying that the complaint cannot be sent directly to the Sessions Judge as it has to be sent to the Magistrate first.
He said that the Sessions Court cannot hear the complaint directly.
The PTI chief’s counsel pointed out flaws in the trial court’s judgment and further submitted that the court violated the petitioner’s constitutional rights as he was not allowed to present witnesses in his defense in court.
On Tuesday, the IHC bench rejected a plea to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for two weeks to obtain the records, adjourning the application till today (Thursday).
On August 5, the former prime minister, who is currently in Attock jail, was found guilty of corruption in a case of misrepresentation of state gifts.
A trial court in the federal capital had sentenced Imran Khan to three years in prison on conviction, which could bar him from standing in elections later this year.
However, the PTI filed an appeal in the IHC challenging the trial court’s verdict and sentence against the party chief, and requested that the court declare the verdict “illegal” earlier this month.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court (SC), which heard a petition challenging the IHC’s decision to refer the case back to the trial court judge who had convicted him, observed that the trial court had He was hasty in his decision.
It acknowledged “procedural flaws” in Khan’s conviction, but chose to wait for the IHC’s decision on the former prime minister’s plea to suspend his three-year sentence.
There are prima facie defects in the judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ), but we will not interfere at this stage. Rather [we] will wait for the outcome of the High Court’s decision,” observed Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Atta Bandial.
a plea
Challenging the trial court’s decision at the IHC, PTI sought suspension of his conviction by Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar.
“It is most respectfully prayed that the Hon’ble Court may be pleased to set aside the illegal judgment dated 05.08.2023 and declare the sentence imposed on the appellant as illegal and without legal authority and acquit the appellant. Charges have been framed against him,” the petition read.
Apart from the jail term, the Additional District and Sessions Judge convicted Khan of corruption in the Toshakhana case and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
This was the third petition filed by the party after the PTI chief’s arrest.
A day earlier, PTI also announced to approach the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq for not suspending Khan’s sentence.
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 low value, while paying dramatically lower fees to the government for extravagant items. Must pay.
The Toshakhana has been under a microscope ever since allegations emerged that Khan bought gifts 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.
Additionally, seven wristwatches, six made by watchmaker Rolex, and the most expensive “Mastergraph Limited Edition” priced at 85 million Pakistani rupees ($385,000), were among the gifts.
A reference was sent to the Election Commission by National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf asking for an investigation into the matter.
In October 2022, the election body also found the former prime minister guilty of corruption and filed a complaint in an Islamabad court.
