ISLAMABAD: A local court on Wednesday indicted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case. Additional Sessions judge Humayun Dilawar, while hearing the case, framed charges against Khan.
However, PTI chief Imran Khan denied the charges and did not sign the documents. The same court on May 5 rejected Khan’s two applications in the Toshakhana case and summoned him on May 10 for framing charges against him.
The PTI chief who was arrested by Rangers from Islamabad High Court (IHC) was presented before an additional sessions judge at Islamabad Police Lines Headquarters, which has been declared a sub-jail by the district administration on Tuesday night.
A heavy contingent of the police and personnel of Frontier Constabulary (FC) was deployed in and around the Police Lines Headquarters and all roads leading to it.
According to a notification issued by the Chief Commissioner’s office in exercise of powers vested under section 9(2) of CrPC, Law and Justice Division notification dated December 31, 1980, issued in pursuance of Article 2 of Islamabad Capital Territory (Administration), 1980 and all other powers enabling in this behalf, the provincial government, as a one-time dispensation, is pleased to declare New Police Guest House, Police Lines Headquarters H 11/1, Islamabad, the venue for hearing of case titled “District Election Commissioner vs Imran Khan Niazi” and for the appearance of Imran Khan Niazi before Honourable Judge Accountability Court-I, Islamabad on 10th May 2023, instead of F-8 Court Complex, Islamabad and Judicial Complex G 11/4, Islamabad”.
Khan’s counsel Sher Afzal Marwat, while talking to the media after the hearing, said the PTI chief told his legal team that not to file any of his cases before the IHC chief justice as he has no confidence in him. “I do not need any justice from this IHC chief justice even if I have to spend my whole life in jail,” he said, while quoting Imran Khan.
Khawaja Haris, Khan’s counsel told the court that the petition in which his client challenged the May 5 court’s order of that court might have been fixed for hearing Wednesday in the IHC if Khan had not been arrested.
Haris further argued before the court “we have to file an application to fix this case before another judge as we do not have confidence due to apparent biases.” He requests the court to adjourn the hearing of the case and defer the indictment of his client.
However, the court did not approve our request and framed charges against Imran Khan, Marwat said.
On this, Haris, his associate, and Imran Khan boycotted the indictment proceedings. The court indicted the PTI chief despite expressing a lack of confidence in the judge hearing the case, he said. “We are going to the Supreme Court (SC), today, against the high court’s yesterday’s decision,” Marwat said, while referring to the IHC ruling that Imran’s arrest was legal.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023