A District and Sessions Court in Islamabad on Thursday granted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s plea for exemption from appearing in today’s hearing of the Toshakhana case against him.
Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal heard the Toshakhana case against Imran Khan.
The PTI chief’s lawyers, while filing an exemption application from today’s hearing, maintained that there is still a strike at the Islamabad Bar and it has been going on for the past three days.
On this, Amjad Parvez said that Imran Khan is not part of the lawyers’ strike.
He argued that the presence of the accused in the courtroom is necessary at the trial stage. Imran Khan should come even if his lawyers want to go on strike.
Imran Khan’s lawyer Khawaja Haris replied that the PTI chief’s life was in danger and the government had withdrawn his security. He said that the Chief Justice of Islamabad has called for a report on the withdrawal of Imran Khan’s security. He argued that the appearance in the court can also be done through video link.
He said that ‘therefore, the request for immunity from the presence of Imran Khan should be approved, however others will continue the court proceedings’.
After the arguments of the lawyers, the learned judge asked the parties to assist the court in deciding the hearing through joint consultation. On this, lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said that the next hearing of the Toshakhana case should be held after Ramadan. “Is it early?” he asked.
The judge directed to consult the parties concerned and said that the court has already convened at 8:30 am.
Haris proposed to adjourn the hearing for two weeks, on which the court adjourned further proceedings till April 29 and accepted Imran Khan’s request for exemption from today’s appearance.
Apart from this, an application challenging the admissibility of the Toshakhana case has also been filed by Imran Khan’s lawyers and the arguments on this will be given at the next hearing.
What is the 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 Imran Khan bought gifts as prime minister at wholesale prices and sold them in the open market for huge profits.
In October last year, the former prime minister was barred from holding public office after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) found him guilty of illegally selling gifts to foreign dignitaries and heads of state.
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 made 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 has missed several hearings.
