ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday requested the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to nullify sentences handed down to former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in Toshakhana-I case and remand back the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

The NAB prosecutor, Amjad Pervez, stated this before a division bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb during the hearing of Khan and Bushra Bibi’s appeals against their conviction in the Toshakhana reference, in which, they were sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment each and a Rs1.54 billion fine.

Pervez also said that he disagreed with the manner in which the trial was conducted and sentences were announced. He admitting that he had already called for suspension of the sentences.

On the occasion, Barrister Ali Zafar requested exemption for his clients from appearing before the court in person. Justice Aamer told him not to worry, as they will issue order in this regard. Pervez expressed no objection to the exemption request.

Barrister Zafar argued that the trial process was flawed, describing it as a jail trial with rushed proceedings that violated his clients’ rights. He highlighted that on January 29, the right to cross-examination was cut short and Bushra Bibi’s statement was recorded late at night.

He noted that Khan’s statement was not recorded until January 31, and argued that the rushed process had compromised the defence.

After hearing Zafar’s arguments, the IHC chief justice directed him to consult further with Imran Khan regarding the prosecutor’s remand request and said that if you oppose the NAB’s proposal, then the court will decide the appeals on merit.

Justice Aurangzeb added that if technical errors are ignored, the court could choose between ordering a retrial or addressing the case’s merits directly.

Zafar responded that in his view, the decision of sentence cannot stand.

Later, the IHC bench deferred hearing of the case till November 21, directing Ali Zafar to present a clear stance on NAB’s proposal.

In this matter, Imran and Bushra moved the petitions through their counsels Barrister Ali Zafar, Salman Safdar advocate and others and cited the State and chairman NAB as respondents.

Barrister Zafar argued that both, Imran Khan and his wife, were subjected to sham trial where the Courts were proceeding not only unfairly and with undue haste but also ignoring the very basic fundamental right of fair trial and due process.

He contended in these appeals that Imran Khan and his wife have been erroneously convicted and sentenced by the Accountability Court 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 the judgment, the NAB authorities and the judge, have caused grave injustice upon the aggrieved as firstly their trials 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.

He added that thirdly, the judgments are illegal and unconstitutional because the rights of Imran Khan and his wife of fair trial under Article 10A of the Constitution have been infringed when their trials were concluded with undue haste as if they had to be concluded before the date of general elections on 08/02/2024.

It was further contended by Barrister Zafar that during the jail trials both, Imran Khan and his wife, were not allowed to produce evidence in defence as their right to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses was illegally and unlawfully closed. Similarly, the Section 342 CrPC statement of Imran Khan was not recorded nor his lawyers were allowed to present their concluding arguments.

Therefore, he prayed that the judgment passed by the accountability court in jail trials of Toshakhana case be set aside, they be acquitted from charges.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024