ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday suspended Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s conviction in the Toshakhana case.
A two-member bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri announced the reserved verdict on the PTI chief’s plea against his sentence in the Toshakhana criminal case.
The court ordered to release the former prime minister on bail. He has been ordered to submit surety bonds of Rs100,000 to secure bail. The written order of the verdict will be announced soon, the IHC Chief Justice told the PTI chief’s lawyer Babar Awan.
PTI chairman’s aide on legal affairs Naeem Haider Panjotha said in a post on social media, “The CJ has accepted our request, suspended the sentence and said a detailed decision would be provided later.”
Meanwhile, the FIA has geared to arrest the former prime minister in the cypher case. The FIA team investigating the cypher case has formed six teams to arrest him.
Ahead of the verdict, the PTI chairman filed a petition to prevent arrest in any case. His lawyer Salman Safdar filed the petition and urged the court to restrain the FIA, NAB and police from arresting him.
On August 5, a district and sessions court sentenced Imran Khan to three years in prison after finding him guilty in the Toshakhana case. The court also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 and subsequently disqualified him from office for five years.
Last week, Supreme Court of Pakistan acknowledged “procedural defects” in Imran’s conviction but opted to wait for the IHC decision.
Reserved verdict
Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday reserved its verdict on PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s plea against his three-year sentence in Toshakhana case.
IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri reserved the verdict after hearing of PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s appeal against his sentence in the Toshakhana criminal case.
A division bench, led by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, is overseeing the proceedings. The court requested arguments from the election commission’s lawyer, Amjad Pervaiz, who was unable to attend the previous hearing due to health reasons.
The chief justice directed Pervaiz to be present at the next hearing, warning that if he didn’t attend, a verdict would be based on the available record.
Imran Khan’s legal team, including Latif Khosa, Salman Akram Raja, Gohar Ali Khan, Ali Zafar, and Sher Afzal Marwat were present along with Imran Khan’s sisters, Aleema and Uzma Khan.
ECP lawyer, Amjad Pervaiz, argued that Imran Khan concealed Toshakhana information in his asset details and opposed the appeal for suspension of his sentence. He also highlighted the need to issue a notice to the public prosecutor
The ECP counsel claimed that they also harassed the judge who delivered the verdict in the Toshakhana case. The defense argued this was the first case where the accused wasn’t given the chance to defend himself.
