IHC’s detailed verdict suspending PTI chairman’s sentence

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a written verdict suspending the sentence of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman in the Toshakhan case.

The verdict states that the trial court’s sentence of three years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs0.1 million is suspended, and that the jurisdiction and other issues are not being decided in the suspension request.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the brief verdict in the courtroom and said that the petitioner’s appeal against the trial court’s decision was accepted and the trial court’s decision was suspended.

The written verdict, authored by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, consists of eight pages and states that the trial court had sentenced the PTI chairman on a complaint by the Election Commission under the Election Act.

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The verdict says that the sentence given by the trial court on August 5 was of short duration, and that the trial court had sentenced the PTI chairman on a complaint by the Election Commission under the Election Act.

“The court believes that the petitioner is entitled to suspension of sentence and release on bail,” the verdict says.

The verdict further says that “it is not necessary that every case be suspended as per the Supreme Court’s decision, while the apex court has ruled in several of its decisions that granting or denying bail is at the discretion of the high court.

The verdict says that the suspension request is accepted and the trial court’s decision of August 5 is suspended, and that the petitioner is released on bail upon depositing a surety bond of Rs.01 million.

The suspension verdict also includes a reference to the Supreme Court’s Qaim Ali Shah case.

Experts say that the trial court judge did not give any decision on the PTI chairman’s disqualification, so his lawyers did not challenge it in the high court.

It is likely that the PTI chairman’s lawyers will separately challenge the Election Commission’s disqualification decision.