ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday suspended the non-bailable arrest warrants issued against the former Prime Minister Chairman Imran Khan by a district and sessions court in the Toshakhana reference till March 13.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the verdict after it was reserved earlier in the day.
IHC Chief accepted the PTI chief’s plea against Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal’s decision and directed Khan to ensure that he appears before the lower court on March 13.
Earlier, IHC reserved its verdict in the case.
Imran had challenged the order of district and sessions court which upheld the non-bailable arrest warrant for the PTI chairman.
The 70-year-old former PM has missed three indictment hearings before an Islamabad sessions court in the case while he recovers from a gunshot wound sustained in a failed assassination attempt in Wazirabad last year.
PTI chairman’s lawyer Advocate Ali Bokhari requested the IHC to fix the case for the hearing today.
As the hearing began, the court gave 30 minutes to Imran’s legal team to tell it when the PTI chairman will appear before the court.
Ali Bukhari and Qaiser Imam, Imran’s lawyers, urged the court to cancel their client’s arrest warrants.
However, the court remarked that the warrants were not issued for arrests but to frame charges against the former PM in the Toshakhana case.
The sessions court was set to indict Imran in the Toshakhana Reference on Feb 28, but his lawyer had requested the judge that he be exempted from the hearing because he had to appear in several other courts. His indictment was deferred twice before.
