ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has been asked to set aside trial courts’ orders dismissing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s pending pre-arrest bail petitions without discussing merits on technicalities of the cases.
Special Judge Anti-Terrorism Court on 11-08-23 dismissed seven bail applications of Imran Khan due to his non-appearance before the Court, while National Accountability Court, Islamabad, on 10-08-23 dismissed pending pre-arrest bail application of Imran Khan in Al-Qadir Trust reference.
PTI chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday through his counsels, Barrister Salman Safdar, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, and four others filed a petition under Article 184(3) of the constitution.
He asked the court to extend its gracious consideration to entertain and accept the present petition, thereby, rectifying this grievous miscarriage of justice and to uphold the enforceability and effectiveness of constitutional safeguards.
The PTI chief further requested the apex court to direct the inspector generals of police of the Punjab, Islamabad, and Balochistan to refrain from effecting his arrest in cases where his pre-arrest bail applications were pending before the trial courts and were dismissed without due consideration of cases’ merits.
He also urged the Supreme Court to direct all relevant federal and provincial institutions and authorities, under the vigilant supervision of this Court, to condemn the ongoing unprecedented “political victimization” and curtail any unwarranted exploitation of state machinery that leads to the violation of his constitutionally-safeguarded fundamental rights.
The PTI chief submitted that his case is distinctly exceptional, characterised by the orchestrated manipulation of the criminal machinery for dubious motives. This novel aspect of the case involves an unparalleled degree of political victimisation, manifesting through the unjust initiation of approximately 180 criminal cases grounded upon baseless and spurious charges.
The petitioner said he finds himself ensnared in a cycle of recurring arrests, an endeavour seemingly designed to confine him and thereby, curtail his participation in the political arena, including the electoral processes.
“This worrisome sequence of events implores the intervention of the Court to rectify this alarming trajectory, safeguarding the principles of justice and democratic participation.”
The petitioner sought the embodiment of a fair trial as guaranteed under Article 10-A of the Constitution, 1973 and the unwavering assurance of his constitutionally-bestowed right to unfettered access to justice.
The PTI chief informed that previously he had filed two constitutional petitions (Writ Petition 26359 of 2023 and Writ Petition No 1516 of 2023) before the Lahore High Court and Islamabad High Court, respectively.
These petitions comprehensively raised a multitude of concerns centering on the infringement of his constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. Despite undergoing a comprehensive deliberation before a five-member bench of the Lahore High Court, no conclusive verdict safeguarding the petitioner's fundamental rights has been rendered.
“In spite of repeated appeals to the High Courts of Lahore and Islamabad, no remedy or respite has been extended to the petitioner, thereby failing to secure his constitutionally bestowed rights – a matter fully within the purview of this honorable court's original jurisdiction, as outlined under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.”
The former PM submitted that the manner in which the Toshakhana trial concluded is known to all in sundry, wherein, the petitioner was unjustly condemned, convicted, and sentenced without being granted a fair opportunity to be heard.
The conviction in the case is a result of baseless and mala fide charges, a politically-motivated case, an erroneous appreciation of evidence, non-production of defence evidence, an absence of proper hearing of final arguments, and a pre-determined/written judgment which was astonishingly announced a mere 30 minutes after the judge retired to chambers.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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