Islamabad: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has filed a plea in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to suspend the August 5 trial court verdict in the Tosha Khana case.
The petition was filed by lawyer Latif Khosa on behalf of Chairman PTI in the Islamabad High Court against the Toshakhana verdict under Section 561-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Khan has requested in the petition to suspend the entire decision of the trial court, as the IHC has only suspended the sentence of Chairman PTI in the Toshakhana case.
The petition’s title stated that it sought “rectification of the order dated August 28 to the extent of suspending the operation of the impugned order along with the sentence as verbally prayed by the learned counsel for the petitioner before this honourable court at the time of arguments”.
It urged the court to rectify the “omission of not recording the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner with regard to the suspension” of the Toshakhana judgement of August 5.
The petition further contends that Khan’s “rights” faced “serious prejudice” because of the non-suspension of the trial court verdict as the ECP barred him from contesting elections.
The petition further states that the disqualification order by the ECP was issued in “haste” despite the conviction not being final.
It was further requested in the application that the counsel for the Election Commission (ECP) objected that the state was not to be made a party in the application; the court should allow the state to be made a party by modifying the application for suspension of decision.
This development comes more than a month after the IHC suspended Khan’s three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case.
It is important to remember that on August 5, a trial court in Islamabad convicted Imran Khan of corruption in the Tosha Khana case and sentenced him to 3 years in prison. Soon after the verdict, he was arrested by the Punjab Police from his residence in Zaman Park in Lahore.
Later, on August 29, the Islamabad High Court ordered the release of Imran Khan, who was imprisoned in Attock Jail after his arrest in the Tosha Khana case.
However, the special court had ordered to keep the former prime minister in jail under the Official Secrets Act in the cipher case.
It should be noted that the Election Commission of Pakistan sent the reference of criminal proceedings against Imran Khan to the court after pronouncing the decision to disqualify him in the Tosha Khana case, in which a non-bailable arrest warrant was issued for his non-appearance.
In August last year, on the request of five members of the National Assembly of the former ruling coalition, the Speaker of the National Assembly sent the Tosha Khana reference to the Election Commission for the disqualification of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
In the reference, it was alleged that Imran Khan did not disclose the income earned by selling gifts from Tosha Khana under assets. The reference filed under Article 63 of the Constitution sought the disqualification of Imran Khan under Article 62(1)(F).
During the hearing of the case, Imran Khan's lawyer, Barrister Ali Zafar, took the stand that disqualification under Section 62(1)(F) is only the jurisdiction of the judiciary, and according to the Supreme Court, the Election Commission is not a court.
Later, on October 21, 2022, the Election Commission disqualified him while announcing the decision of the Toshah Khana reference filed against Imran Khan.
The Election Commission disqualified Imran Khan under subclause 'P' of Article 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
