ISLAMABAD: A larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday adjourned the Tyrian White case till Wednesday.
A bench consisting of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir headed by Chief Justice Amir Farooq conducted the hearing. The Chief Justice inquired whether Imran Khan is still a public office holder and whether one became a public office holder just by winning seats in the National Assembly.
Imran’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja said that it is a question of admissibility of the application as well as jurisdiction. The Chief Justice remarked that the court is not asking him (lawyer) to argue on the merits of the case.
He said that if a case goes on merit, it is a two-minute case. The petitioner’s lawyer Hamid Shah said that when the court issued the notice, Imran Khan should have submitted a reply on merit, but he raised five objections to the petition.
He further said that the PTI chief took the stand that he was no longer a member of the National Assembly. He said that Imran Khan was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the Tosha Khana case and decided that the National Assembly constituency from which he was elected in the 2018 general elections was vacant. However, they challenged the ECP’s decision in court, which stayed the by-elections in the said constituency.
Hamid Shah said that the ECP had reported the victory of Imran Khan from another constituency. The Chief Justice said that despite all these things, Imran Khan is no longer an MNA from this seat and asked the lawyers to present their arguments as to what the status is because he has not taken oath from this constituency and is the head of any political party. It is a public position. Holder
He further said that the petition of election corruption could have been filed in the Election Tribunal but it was not so in the instant case. Chief Justice Amir Farooq said that the court will first decide the admissibility of the case and then proceed.
The petitioner’s lawyer said that there is a decision of the American court regarding Imran Khan, the PTI chief has submitted an affidavit in the court. The Chief Justice remarked that this is not an affidavit but a declaration signed by the Commissioner for Oaths in Pakistan.
The petitioner’s counsel claimed that Imran Khan as a father had declared to hand over the guardianship of his daughter. He said that Faisal Vawda’s case is also based on false affidavit.
The petitioner’s counsel said that the circumstances and events in Faisal Vawda’s case are different, as he had gone to the Supreme Court and also sought an apology.
Chief Justice Amir Farooq inquired that if Imran Khan apologizes, what will be the position? He questioned whether the affidavit will be disqualified for life if it is proved to be false.
He further said that the IHC had disqualified Khawaja Asif but the Supreme Court annulled the decision. Justice Kayani inquired whether it is possible for a person to find out that he has children much later and whether a person can be disqualified on that basis.
He said that an adopted child should also be declared a dependent. The Chief Justice inquired whether the adopted child has to be displayed by any of his dependents.
Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday sent its first reminder to PTI chief Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to appear before the NAB Rawalpindi on Tuesday (today) in the Tosha Khana case.
According to sources, the court allowed Bushra Bibi to answer about a dozen questions in her absence. This was the second notice to Imran as earlier NAB Rawalpindi sent him a message to appear before its investigation team on March 9 but he did not appear. The bureau has now sent its first reminder to the couple to appear today.
Sources say that the case against Imran Khan is at the inquiry stage and if he does not appear before the NAB investigators, another reminder will be sent to him. If still they do not appear, the investigation team can ask Chairman NAB to take the case to investigation stage.
Meanwhile, the NAB team reached Zaman Park to give notice to Bushra Bibi. The summons notice was sent to Imran Khan’s Bani Gala residence. NAB had charged Imran Khan with selling Tosha Khana gifts, which included 4 Rolex watches and an iPhone, which were given to him by Qatar’s armed forces in 2018. They sold these gifts against the law.
