The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will decide on Tuesday the appeal by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, in which he asks for the suspension of his conviction in the Toshakhana case.
Toshakhana verdict announced today: A division bench composed of Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri will announce the reserved decision.
The former prime minister is presently house at the Attock jail.
Amjad Pervaiz, an attorney for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), made his case against the suspension of the former prime minister’s prison term during the hearing on Monday.
Pervez requested the bench to issue a notice to the State in the case, emphasizing its legal requirement. Following Pervez’s conclusion, Imran’s attorney, Sardar Latif Khosa, raised no objections to the ECP attorney’s position but emphasized that they “should not do it” at this point.
The ECP attorney also referenced several legislations and previous court rulings, including the case of Rahul Gandhi from the Indian National Congress who had argued for the suspension of his two-year sentence, a plea that was ultimately denied.
The IHC stated it would release the decision on Tuesday (today), following the hearing of the arguments.
Arrest of Imran Khan
“On August 5, authorities took Imran into custody from his Lahore residence shortly after a district and sessions court in the federal capital convicted him of guilt in the Toshakhana case and issued a three-year prison sentence. He is currently detain at Attock Prison.
Imran complained in his petitions about the ruling from the Additional Sessions Judge, Islamabad (West), dated August 5, which resulted in his conviction for violating Article 174 of the 2017 Election Act.
Continuing, he state that the challenge order lacked justification and could potentially be reverse.
The petitioner claimed that the learned trial judge had decided to convict and punish the appellant regardless of the case’s merits when he rendered the impugned ruling. “They claimed that the appellant had not been given a fair or adequate opportunity to be heard before rendering the contested judgment.”
Imran was disqualified from the parliament last October by the ECP for submitting a “false” and “incorrect declaration” in his statement of assets and liabilities for the 2020–21 election cycle.
Background
Established in 1974, the Toshakhana operates as a department under the administrative jurisdiction of the Cabinet Division. It houses priceless presents that foreign dignitaries and heads of other governments and states have given to rulers, lawmakers, bureaucrats, and officials.
The ruling coalition’s lawmakers filed a reference against Imran last year, stating that he had not disclosed information about the items he received from the Toshakhana and the money from their alleged sales.