Islamabad High Court reserves judgement on Imran Khan’s plea challenging conviction in Toshakhana case

Islamabad, August 28

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The Islamabad High Court on Monday reserved its verdict on former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s plea seeking the suspension of his three-year jail term in the Toshakhana corruption case.

A division bench comprising Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri reserved the verdict after hearing both parties’ counsels.

The bench later said that the reserved judgment would be announced at 11.00 am on Tuesday.

During his arguments, the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) counsel Amjad Pervaiz urged the IHC to issue a notice to the state to make it a respondent in the case as, he said, the law made it necessary, Dawn newspaper reported.

When Pervaiz concluded his arguments, Khan’s lawyer Latif Khosa said he did not have any objections to the ECP counsel’s plea to issue a notice to the state. Subsequently, the court reserved its verdict on the case.

A trial court had convicted and sentenced the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman to three years in prison on August 5 in the case.

Khan was sentenced on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts acquired by him and his family during his 2018-2022 tenure. He has also been barred from politics for five years, preventing him from contesting an upcoming election.

The IHC bench had adjourned the hearing on Friday after the lawyer representing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Amjad Pervez failed to appear due to illness.

Khan’s lawyer Latif Khosa completed his argument against the conviction on Thursday, asserting that the verdict was given in haste and full of shortcomings.

He urged the court to set aside the sentence but the defence team demanded more time to complete its arguments.

Many believe that a favourable ruling for Khan may come after the Supreme Court highlighted faults in the judgment convicting Khan.

Last week, the Supreme Court acknowledged “procedural defects” in Khan’s conviction but opted to wait for the IHC decision on the former prime minister’s plea.

The case was launched last year in October on the complaint of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which had earlier disqualified Khan in the same case.

After a hearing spanning over months, Judge Humayun Dilawar of the Islamabad-based sessions court on August 5 awarded a three-year sentence to Khan for hiding the proceeds he got from the sale of state gifts.

Khan within days challenged the conviction in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking to suspend his sentence and overturn the judgment.