IHC suspends PTI chairman’s sentence in Toshakhana case, orders release

Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday suspended the sentence of PTI Chairman Imran Khan in Toshakhana case and ordered his release.

PTI chairman has been directed to submit surety bond of Rs0.1 million.

Chief Justice Aamir Farooq remarked issuing the written order shortly.

IHC had reserved its verdict on PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s plea against his three-year sentence in Toshakhana case yesterday.

IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri reserved the verdict and was to be announced today (Tuesday) at 11 am.

IHC had resumed the hearing of PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s appeal against his sentence in the Toshakhana criminal case.

A division bench, led by IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, is overseeing the proceedings.

The court requested arguments from the election commission’s lawyer, Amjad Pervaiz, who was unable to attend the previous hearing due to health reasons.

The chief justice had directed Pervaiz to be present at the next hearing, warning that if he didn’t attend, a verdict would be based on the available record.

Imran Khan’s legal team, including Latif Khosa, Salman Akram Raja, Gohar Ali Khan, Ali Zafar, and Sher Afzal Marwat, is present, along with Imran Khan’s sisters, Aleema and Uzma Khan.

Barrister Gohar requested a meeting with his client, Imran Khan. The IHC chief justice stated that the court would announce the verdict on the appeal today.

Election commission’s lawyer, Amjad Pervaiz, argued that Imran Khan concealed Toshakhana information in his asset details and opposed the appeal for suspension of his sentence. He also highlighted the need to issue a notice to the public prosecutor, citing the Rahul Gandhi case as reference.

Pervaiz mentioned that like in the Rahul Gandhi case, where a two-year sentence was given on a private complaint, Gandhi’s appeal against the sentence was rejected.

He further contended that the Criminal Procedure Code doesn’t mention making the complainant a party in an application seeking suspension of a sentence.

Pervaiz requested that the hearing shouldn’t proceed without issuing notices to the state to hear their side.

He also brought up the Parvez Elahi case, mentioning that he wasn’t opposing the plea for suspension of the sentence but was emphasizing the need for a notice to the public prosecutor.

The chief justice remarked that in NAB cases, a complainant is not made a party, and the state doesn’t appear; only a bureau prosecutor is heard.

Amjad Pervaiz stated that the term “complainant” isn’t mentioned in the law; only the state is mentioned.

He said there’s no judgment where a complaint of corrupt practices has been filed with a magistrate.

The other party countered, stating that the complaint cannot be sustained as it wasn’t filed before the correct forum, leading to a back-and-forth argument.

The ECP counsel claimed that they’ve also harassed the judge who delivered the verdict in the Toshakhana case, and the defense argued this was the first case where the suspect wasn’t given the chance to defend himself.

The ECP lawyer mentioned that all ECP members unanimously approved filing the complaint.

On August 26, Imran Khan was investigated in Attock Jail by the FIA cybercrime team regarding the alleged disappearance of the cipher in the US cipher case.

The FIA questioned Imran Khan about the illegal use and disappearance of the cipher.

An FIR was filed against him and PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi over the cipher’s misuse and misplacement.

Imran Khan is serving a sentence in Attock Jail in the Toshakhana criminal case as awarded by the Islamabad sessions court.