LAHORE: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) against his jail trial in a contempt case by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The petitioner contended that the ECP has decided to conduct the trial proceedings against the petitioner at Adiala jail on account of unspecified security concerns.

He pleaded that the ECP failed to appreciate that a jail trial will violate several fundamental rights of the petitioner.

The petitioner pleaded that the ECP is not a court of law that can exercise judicial powers; instead, it is an executive/ administrative agency.

He argued that an open trial is an essential component of a fair trial and asserted that the impugned order was clearly the outcome of a malafide exercise of power by the ECP.

He prayed the court to set aside the ECP decision to hold his trial in jail for being unconstitutional and direct the respondent to hold an open and public trial.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023