ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court from Monday (February 26) will hear the appeals of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, and Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Toshakhana and cipher cases.

A special bench of the IHC comprising Chief Justice Amer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan will hear the cases.

The petitions filed by the PTI founder, Bushra Bibi, and Shah Mahmood Qureshi seeking release on bail will also be heard.

It may be recalled that a special court established under the Official Secrets Act and an accountability court had sentenced Shah Mehmood Qureshi and PTI founder in cipher case on January 30 and Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in Toshakhana case on Jan 31.

Imran Khan along with his wife, Bushra Bibi, on February 17 had filed two appeals, writ petitions and applications in the Islamabad High Court through Barrister Syed Ali Zafar. In these filings, the orders passed by the Special Judge and NAB during the jail trials of Imran Khan and his wife in Toshakhana and Cipher case proceedings have been challenged.

PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi also filed a petition against his conviction in cipher case.

Ali Zafar contended in these appeals that Imran Khan and his wife have been erroneously convicted and sentenced by the Accountability Court and the Special Judge and their freedom and liberty have been curtailed in a brazen violation of their fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973. The evidence presented against them is deficient in every manner and simply fails to connect them with the alleged charges.

The appeals further pointed out that while passing their respective judgements both, the NAB Authorities and Special Judge, have caused grave injustice upon the aggrieved as firstly their trials in both cases were concluded in a matter of two to three weeks. Secondly, when the Islamabad High Court had directed the authorities to conduct an open trial yet public, media etc were not allowed to witness the trial freely and instead proceedings were carried out secretly and surreptitiously by also changing the court rooms without the information of the aggrieved and their counsels.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024