Pakistan Court To Pronounce Verdict On Imran Khan's Plea Challenging Conviction In Toshakhana Case

Islamabad High Court's divisional bench comprising Chief Justice Amer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri has reserved their verdict in the case on Monday after hearing both parties’ counsels.

Islamabad High Court to announce verdict on Imran Khan's plea in Toshakhana case

Source : PTI File Photo

The Islamabad High Court will on Tuesday pronounce its verdict on former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s plea challenging conviction in the Toshakhana case. A divisional bench of Islamabad High Court judges, comprising Chief Justice Amer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri has reserved their verdict in the case on Monday after hearing both parties’ counsels. The bench said that it would announce the reserved verdict at 11 am on Tuesday, as per a PTI report. The 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf chairman was sentenced to three years of jail over the matter. 

Khan was sentenced on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts acquired by him and his family during his 2018-2022 tenure. He has also been barred from politics for five years, preventing him from contesting an upcoming election.

The hearing in the case was adjourned on Friday after the lawyer representing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Amjad Pervez failed to appear due to illness. On Thursday, Khan's lawyer Latif Khosa completed his argument against the conviction and asserted that the verdict was given in haste and full of shortcomings.

He urged the court to set aside the sentence but the defence team demanded more time to complete its arguments. Many believe that a favourable ruling for Khan may come after the Supreme Court highlighted faults in the judgment convicting Khan.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan had last week acknowledged “procedural defects” in Khan's conviction but opted to wait for the IHC decision on the former prime minister's plea. 

The case was launched last year in October on the complaint of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which had earlier disqualified Khan in the same case.

After a hearing spanning over months, Judge Humayun Dilawar of the Islamabad-based sessions court on August 5 awarded a three-year sentence to Khan for hiding the proceeds he got from the sale of state gifts.