ISLAMABAD: On Friday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) alleged that its Chairman Imran Khan’s legal team was subjected to “harassment” by being trapped in an elevator for 45 minutes at the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
In a dramatic turn of events, Senior lawyer Latif Khosa and Naeem Haider Panjotha, part of the legal team representing the former prime minister in the Toshakhana case, found themselves trapped in a malfunctioning elevator at the high court.
The incident occurred as Khosa and his colleagues were leaving the court after presenting their arguments on a plea to suspend the three-year jail term of the deposed premier, who was ousted from office via a no-confidence motion in April last year.
Total 19 individuals, including a media representative, found themselves stranded in the malfunctioning elevator. This prompted a response from the fire and rescue team after more than 30 minutes.
The team successfully rescued the trapped individuals from the lift situated on the second floor of the IHC.
The former ruling party strongly condemned the incident. This prompted them tourge President Arif Alvi and Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial to initiate immediate investigations.
SCBA raises Concerns over the harassement
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) expressed concerns over the incident. SCBA says, “Surprisingly, IHC staff did nothing for immediate help.”
“Senior lawyer Latif Khosa and others got suck in the elevator for almost one hour at the IHC”
The SCBA called upon the IHC Chief Justice and relevant authorities to promptly investigate the incident. “Thank God there was no loss of life in this incident.”
The SCBA expressed its hope that the investigation would reveal the true motive behind the incident.
“It should be probed whether the incident occurred due to a technical fault or it was an attempt to kill Latif Khosa and other lawyers.”
The apex lawyers’ body also voiced its expectation that measures will be implemented to avert such incidents in the future.
