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Pakistan’s Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday adjourned the appeal filed by former prime minister Imran Khan — currently incarcerated in Attock Jail — against his conviction and sentence in the Toshakhana case till Thursday.
On Tuesday, the IHC also took up the plea seeking “better class/A-Class” jail facilities for Imran while also urging that his detention in Attock Jail be declared “illegal” and for the ex-premier to be shifted to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, reports Dawn.
On August 5, a trial court in Islamabad found the PTI chief guilty of “corrupt practices” in a case pertaining to concealing details of state gifts and sentenced him to three years in prison. The verdict also means that he stood disqualified from contesting general elections for five years.
A day ago, a report by Additional District and Sessions Judge Shafqut Ullah Khan stated that the “grave concern” regarding a lack of privacy around Imran’s prison cell’s toilet facilities due to a CCTV camera’s presence was “genuine” and pointed towards a violation of prison rules.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri presided over the hearing on Tuesday.
Khawaja Haris, Barrister Gohar, Babar Awan, Latif Khosa and Sher Afzal Marwat were among Imran’s counsels who appeared in the court while Advocate Amjad Pervaiz appeared as the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP’s) lawyer.
During the hearing, ECP lawyer Pervaiz requested more time for preparation and that the hearing be adjourned till August 28. However, Khosa opposed the request, following which the IHC adjourned the hearing till Thursday.
The courtroom was reported to be full of people, leading to difficulties for the lawyers and media present there.
Prior to the hearing, Advocate Naeem Haider Panjutha, a member of Imran’s legal team, said, “[Imran] Khan sahib would not be presented in the court as far as today is concerned.”
He further said that other cases in an Islamabad anti-terrorism court were adjourned.
On Monday night, the Islamabad police had also stated that there was “no truth” in various reports that said Imran will appear in court on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will on Wednesday hear Imran’s plea challenging the August 3 IHC order of remanding the Toshakhana case to Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar, who had later declared the former premier to be guilty of “corrupt practices.”
PTI calls for chief justice’s recusal
Responding to the development, PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hasan called for the chief justice to recuse himself from the case.
“Those who violate the justice system in every conceivable way are accorded unwarranted relief and those who are the victims of wanton state oppression and suppression are denied it,” he said in a post on social media platform X.
Last month, the PTI chief himself had approached the IHC seeking Justice Farooq’s recusal from the bench hearing petitions against the Toshakhana reference in the interest of a “fair and impartial” trial.
