IHC reserves verdict on PTI chief’s pleas seeking to halt Toshakhana trial

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has reserved its verdict on a series of petitions filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman against the Toshakhana trial.

These pleas include an application by the former premier challenging the maintainability of a complaint accusing him of hiding Toshakhana gifts and a petition seeking the transfer of the case to another trial court. Additionally, a third petition was filed today, seeking the right to defense in the matter, Dawn said.

The PTI chief had submitted these applications in the IHC following a trial court’s ruling last month, declaring the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) reference against him maintainable. The charges against the PTI chief were framed on May 10.

However, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq intervened, directing Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar to re-examine the matter within seven days, considering eight legal questions to determine the reference’s maintainability.

The questions raised included whether the complaint was duly authorized by the ECP, the validity of the ECP’s decision on October 21, 2022, and whether the issue of authorization was a question of fact and evidence that could be ratified during the proceedings.

Despite this, the PTI chief’s counsel, Khawaja Haris, did not appear before the court for three consecutive hearings when the sessions judge re-examined the matter. On July 9, ADSJ Dilawar ruled that the reference was maintainable, reviving the proceedings and summoning witnesses for testimony.

Yesterday, Judge Dilawar further ruled that Imran had failed to establish the relevance of his witnesses in court and requested the defense counsel to conclude the arguments. Otherwise, the court would reserve an order on the complaint.

Today’s hearing

During the hearing today, Justice Farooq heard arguments from Imran’s lawyers, Khawaja Haris, and Gohar Khan, along with ECP counsel Amjad Pervaiz. The IHC CJ reserved the verdict on the petitions, stating that the judgment would be announced tomorrow (Friday).

At the start of today’s hearing, Imran’s counsel, Haris, informed the court that his client had given his statement in the trial court and requested more time to present witnesses. He urged the IHC to halt trial court proceedings until a decision was reached on the current petition, expressing concern about the alleged haste in the case, which he deemed prejudiced.

The IHC chief justice inquired whether this meant that the judge hearing the case daily was biased, to which Haris clarified that he wanted to present his arguments in court and requested the IHC to halt trial court proceedings during the high court’s deliberations. He added that the Toshakhana case had now become a constitutional matter.

Regarding Judge Dilawar, Haris stated that the judge had made “strange” remarks about the PTI lawyers. The IHC CJ asked if a different judge should rehear the petitions and decide on them.

The PTI counsel further contended that the ECP’s complaint against Imran was not filed correctly. It should have been sent to the magistrate first for scrutiny, instead of being directly submitted to the sessions court.

The Toshakhana conundrum: PTI chairman’s future in the balance

On the other hand, ECP counsel, Pervaiz, brought up the PTI’s allegations against Judge Dilawar, citing a report by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which stated that the contentious Facebook posts were not from the trial court judge’s account. He questioned whether contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against Imran Khan based on the FIA report and whether a criminal case should not be filed against him.

The court took a break and resumed the proceedings later, ultimately reserving its verdict on all petitions filed by Imran.

The Toshakhana case

The Toshakhana case, filed by ruling party lawmakers, centres on a criminal complaint filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

It alleges that the PTI chief deliberately concealed details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana during his tenure as the prime minister and proceeds from their reported sales. Imran has faced legal issues related to his retention of gifts, which also led to his disqualification by the ECP.

ECP’s contention

The ECP concluded on October 21, 2022, that the former premier had made false statements regarding the gifts. The Toshakhana is a repository where presents given to government officials by foreign officials are kept, and its rules mandate reporting such gifts to the Cabinet Division.

The IHC CJ stated that the verdict on these petitions would be announced tomorrow.