ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday (August 23), a three-member bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial will address Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s plea challenging the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) decision on the Toshakhana case.
The bench includes Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail. It will take up the plea filed by Imran Khan on August 5, which contests the IHC’s declaration that the sessions court’s verdict regarding the Toshakhana case against him is “void.”
The case began when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) asserted on October 21, 2022, that the former prime minister had made “false statements and incorrect declarations” about gifts, resulting in his disqualification under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution. Subsequently, the election commission transferred the case to the sessions court in the federal capital, seeking criminal proceedings against Imran Khan for misleading the ECP about gifts received from foreign dignitaries during his time in office.
The court indicted Imran Khan in the case on May 10 and dismissed his petition to declare the case inadmissible. The IHC overturned the same ruling on July 4 and directed the sessions court to hear the petitioner and reach a decision within seven days.
On July 8, Additional and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar deemed the Toshakhana case against Khan as maintainable, leading to its challenge in the IHC.
Following this, Imran Khan was arrested from his residence in Lahore on July 5 after being convicted in the Toshakhana case. The sessions court found him guilty of corrupt practices related to the state gift depository, sentencing him to three years in prison along with a fine of Rs100,000. The charges included misdeclaration of assets and misuse of his premiership to purchase and sell gifts received during foreign visits.
