ISLAMABAD: Declaring the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s petition for initiating criminal proceedings against chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan as maintainable, a local court on Thursday issued notice to the former prime minister to appear before the court on January 9 next year.
The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, issued a notice to Khan on a petition filed by the ECP, seeking criminal proceedings against him in Toshakhana case.
The reference was filed by ECP last month after it had disqualified the PTI chief on October 21 in the Toshakhana reference under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution read with Sections 137 and 173 of the Elections Act, 2017.
The reference asked the court to proceed against Imran Khan under criminal law for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure as the prime minister. On Monday, the Islamabad district and sessions court reserved its verdict on the case after hearing ECP counsel Advocate Saad Hasan’s arguments alleging that the former prime minister had “deliberately concealed his assets relating to Toshakhana gifts retained by him”.
The ECP had claimed that the PTI chief had “deliberately concealed his assets relating to Toshakhana gifts retained by him particularly in year 2018 and 2019 […] in the statements of assets and liabilities filed for the year 2017-2018 and 2018-19”.
It had requested that the PTI chief be convicted for the offences mentioned under Sections 167 (corrupt practice) and 173 (making or publishing a false statement or declaration) of the Elections Act 2017.
The ECP’s counsel argued in a recent hearing, “It is a crime if someone, who is contesting for the Senate, provincial or National Assembly, does not declare his assets.” Hasan had said that Imran had taken gifts worth Rs 107 million during 2018-2019 and the gifts or property taken during that period would be included in his assets.
He had claimed that “Imran Khan actually did not even want that the gifts worth Rs 142 million are disclosed publicly.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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