Hearing adjourned to today for final arguments: Witnesses’ list submitted by IK in Toshakhana case rejected

ISLAMABAD: A local court on Wednesday rejected the list of witnesses submitted by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan in Toshakhana case and sought final arguments today (Thursday).

Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar, while hearing the case, dismissed a list of witnesses submitted by the PTI chief through his counsel, saying the defence counsel failed to prove the relevance of the witnesses with the case.

Earlier, PTI chief’s lawyer, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, submitted a list of four defence witnesses including Muhammad Usman Ali, FCA, senior consultant, YIA, Qadeer Ahmed, ITP, Senior Manager YIA, Navid Fariq ITP, Senior Manager, and Raoof Hasan, central information secretary, PTI.

According to the written order of the court, as admitted by learned defence counsel, the four witnesses reflected in the list of witnesses are tax consultants/accountants.

This court is not looking into the issue of any entry in income tax return/wealth statement rather the complaint is filed under sections 167 and 173 punishable under Section 174 of the Elections Act, 2017, and the said issue is not related to any provision of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

The court order says that the accused has failed to establish the relevancy of the testimony of the witnesses reflected in the list of witnesses and therefore, cannot be allowed to be produced in the court as defence witnesses.

Keeping in view the above, the request of the accused to produce the witnesses is declined, it says, adding “the application for exemption of the accused is allowed only for today, and the matter is adjourned for both parties’ final arguments on the complaint today with direction to argue the complaint, otherwise, the court shall reserve the judgment.”

At the start of the hearing, PTI chief’s lawyer Gohar Khan submitted the list of four private witnesses before the court. He told the court that one witness was related to the tax returns, and another, an officer of a private bank.

The judge told the defence counsel that “today, you had to present the witnesses and not just submit the list.” Gohar requested the court to grant them time till tomorrow (Thursday), adding, “We will present the witnesses”. The judge told the lawyer to produce his witnesses that day.

The PTI chief’s counsel requested the court to grant one-day time to produce the witnesses who are currently in Karachi.

Amjad Pervez, the counsel for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), said those were private witnesses and it was their responsibility to present them.

The court is conducting a trial under Election Act, 2017, he said, adding the question was related to the submission of a false declaration. They had to testify that the declaration was not false, he said, adding they wanted to present Raoof Hasan as a witness who was the information secretary of the PTI. He said “if they want to present the person to whom the watch had been sold then it makes sense.”

During the hearing, Gohar said the ECP’s counsel was talking unnecessarily. “You both should not talk unnecessarily,” the judge remarked.

The judge told the PTI chief’s counsel that “you have been granted time again and again.”

“The court is showing patience for the last three hours,” the judge said.

Gohar told the court “we are just requesting for granting one-day time which is our right.” The court took a break till 1:30pm and directed the PTI chief’s lawyer to present witnesses. The judge said “if the defence counsel failed to present witnesses till 1:30pm then he will make a decision over the list of witnesses.”

The PTI chief’s lawyer filed an application seeking one-day exemption for his client before the court after the hearing was resumed. The judge asked the defence counsel “where is the witnesses”?

Gohar told the court that “we have already made a request before the court to grant one-day time for the production of the witnesses.

ECP’s counsel, Amjad Pervez, objected to the PTI chief’s counsel’s request. The court had ordered to produce private witnesses before it today, he said, adding the defence counsel should prove the relevance of the witnesses mentioned in the list with this case.

He said the case was related to the assets detail filed by the accused. First, three witnesses in the list were tax consultants, he said, adding that was not the case for income tax returns or wealth statements. The failure to produce witnesses was tantamount to delaying the hearing, he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023