Pakistan Court Issues Non-Bailable Warrant Against Ex-PM Imran Khan In Toshakhana Case: Report
A Pakistani court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against former PM Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case. However, he was granted bail in two other cases.
A Pakistani court on Tuesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, but he was granted bail in two other cases, amid high drama outside the court premises, when hundreds of his supporters rallied in support of their leader. Khan, the head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), travelled from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore to Islamabad to appear in three trials.
Additional sessions judge Zafar Iqbal issued a non-bailable arrest warrant in the Toshakhana case against the 70-year-old prime minister, Pakistan's national daily Dawn reported.
For Khan's repeated failure to appear in court, the judge issued a non-bailable arrest order and delayed the case to March 7, as per the report.
In this case, his indictment was already postponed twice, owing to his absence, the report said.
Toshakhana Case:
The Toshakhana case refers to a case in Pakistan in which former leaders Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari were charged with illegally obtaining expensive cars and other gifts while in office at the expense of the public treasury. Khan was charged with getting a high-end vehicle from the government coffers while Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister. He has, however, refuted the accusations and stated that he gave the car back to the treasury.
Imran was also accused of buying presents, including an expensive Graff wristwatch he received as Prime Minister, at a lower price from the state depository known as Toshakhana and reselling them for a profit.
According to Pakistani law, before permitting a receiver to keep an overseas present, it is to be placed in the Toshakhana or treasury for valuation. Government officials are expected to record any gifts they receive, but there is a threshold below which they are not compelled to disclose the full value.
Larger gifts are shipped to Toshakhana, although the receiver may be able to repurchase them at a 50 per cent discount.
Terror Case:
The former cricketer-turned-politician, however, was granted bail by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) as well as the Banking Court in the forbidden funding issue as he appeared at the courthouse complex in front of hundreds of his followers.
Meanwhile, Khan was granted interim bail by ATC judge Raza Jawed till March 9. In reaction to the Toshakhana case, the Islamabad Police had filed a terrorist case against Khan and senior PTI leaders for allegedly vandalising state property.
Prohibited Funding:
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) filed a complaint against Khan and other PTI leaders in an Islamabad-based financial court in October last year for allegedly accepting prohibited funding.
Last year, the Pakistan Election Commission (ECP) judged the party guilty of hiding the fact that it had received the money and disqualified Khan.
In 2014, disgruntled PTI founding member Akbar S Babar filed the prohibited funding case before the ECP.
Murder Attempt Case:
Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, a PML-N MNA, filed a complaint saying that the shot fired by the KP policeman outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Constitution Avenue on October 21, 2022, was an "attempt on his life" at Imran's request.
The disqualification of Imran in the Toshakhana case provoked protests in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, particularly in Faizabad, which resulted in the arrest of three people: a PTI lawmaker and two police guards.
Protesters and police clashed outside Pakistan's Election Commission shortly after the ruling dismissing Imran Khan, when the KP police guard of MNA Saleh Mohammad fired a gunshot.
Khan has not appeared in court since November of last year when he was injured in an assassination attempt during a rally in the Punjab district of Wazirabad.
After being shot during the assassination attempt, Khan was granted interim bail by a special court in Islamabad.
He has since had his bail extended owing to medical reasons.
Khan was deposed in April after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he said was part of a US-led conspiracy to destabilise him as a result of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China, and Afghanistan.
The PTI chief, who took office in 2018, is Pakistan's first Prime Minister to be deposed in a no-confidence vote in Parliament.
(With Inputs From Agencies)
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