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PTI chief’s conviction, disqualification remains intact: legal experts

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The suspension of former prime minister Imran Khan’s sentence by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the Toshakhana case does not undo his disqualification and conviction, which will remain intact until the court rules on the main appeal challenging the trial court’s verdict, legal experts said Tuesday.

Earlier this month, a district and sessions court in the federal capital had sentenced Khan to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs100,000, after finding him guilty of corrupt practices related to the state gift repository — in a move that barred him from contesting elections due later this year.

The IHC on Tuesday suspended the PTI chief’s sentence in the Toshakhana case and ordered the authorities to release him on bail.

IHC issues written verdict

In its much-anticipated eight-page written verdict, a two-member bench of the IHC comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri suspended PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s three-years sentence in the Toshakhana case and ordered his release against surety bonds worth Rs100,000.

“The instant application is allowed and the sentence awarded by the trial court vide judgment dated 5/8/2023 is suspended, consequently, the applicant is ordered to be released on bail in the instant matter subject to furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs100,000 with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction the deputy registrar (judicial) of this court,” read the order.

The arguments raised by both sides as to the jurisdiction and other issues involve a deeper appreciation of the matter which at the stage of suspension is not warranted, especially, where the sentence is a short one, though lengthy arguments were addressed by the parties such questions are not decided and are left to be decided at the state when the appeal is taken up for adjudication, it added.

Commenting on the IHC’s short verdict, advocate Hafiz Ahsan Ahmed told Geo News that the verdict is not unusual or unprecedented as there were bright chances of suspension as Khan’s sentence is of three years.

However, the lawyer added that PTI’s chief conviction and disqualification would remain intact.

“The verdict of suspension of sentence is never on the merit of the case,” Ahmed explained. “One of the grounds of the suspension might be the delay in the fixing of the main appeal in the high court for the hearing, whereas another ground is that punishment being less than five years. In this case, it was three years.”

Concurring with advocate Ahmed’s view, Lawyer Raja Kahlid said that IHC’s verdict was not unusual.

“It was a short sentence which means the punishment was of three years. They (PTI) filed a petition under Section-426 of Code of Criminal Procedure for the suspension of the sentence.

“In the main appeal, the prayer is made for setting aside the conviction of the accused. However, in the appeal filed according to CrPc, the court was implored to suspend the sentence for the time being,” Kahlid said.

He explained that suspension of sentence was not unusual in those cases which have three years of punishment. 

Moreover, the legal expert further said another reason for the suspension of the sentence is that the main appeal could not be fixed early and the court might take more than six months to decide due to the backlog of cases.

However, the conviction and disqualification will remain in effect, he added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Atta Tarar and Azam Nazir Tarar also commented on IHC’s short verdict.

Former law minister Tarar said only the sentence has been suspended whereas the conviction was still intact.

He said that that a three-year sentence was usually suspended within a few days or months and cautioned the PTI against “celebrating too soon”.

Tarar said that the Toshakhana gifts were sold and turned into a profitable business. He called on Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial not to hear any PTI cases.

“[The] PTI chairman could not have escaped punishment in the case,” the PML-N lawyer said. “IHC gave a verdict which the Supreme Court had already given. What is the need for a lawyer if the judge becomes one,” he remarked.

Appreciating the verdict, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Barrister Ali Zafar expressed his pleasure over the high court’s decision to suspend Khan’s sentence.

“It should have been decided in four or five minutes as it was a mistrial case,” the barrister said. “The case should not be sent to the same judge.”

He elaborated that in the first stage, the sentence had been suspended and bail had been given whereas in the second stage, the main appeal would be heard.

“In stage two, the matter will either be settled or sent back for a mistrial,” he said. “There is no doubt that he (Imran Khan) is the chairman of the party.”

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Imran Khan’s bail request in the Toshakhana-II case has had its objections dismissed.

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In the Toshakhana-II case, the Islamabad High Court has dismissed the objections to PTI founder Imran Khan’s bail request.

IHC instructed the registrar’s office to schedule the hearing for the case for Monday.

Imran Khan’s attorneys, Shaheena Shahab, Ayesha Khalid, and others, arrived in court today as IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case.

The registrar’s objections to the plea were questioned by Justice Aurangzeb. In the Toshakhana-II case, Imran Khan submitted a bail application, according to counsel Ayesha Khalid.

Justice Miangul said that previous rulings in circumstances comparable to this one adhered to the consistency principle. In this instance, the petitioner was a man, he added.

Bushra Bibi was given bail because she was a woman, according to the justice, and an application like this one was denied yesterday.

Given that the case action date was November and the power of attorney was executed in July, Justice Aurangzeb raised a concern about the timing.

Justice requested the help of Advocate Shah Khawar in this case.

When an applicant was held in jail, Shah Khawar retorted that it was standard procedure to obtain signatures on required documents, such as a power of attorney.

Imran Khan’s attorney, Shaheena Shahab, asked the court to send out notices regarding the bail plea. A judge named Aurangzeb said that the law would be observed.

Following arguments, the court dismissed the registrar office’s objections and ordered that the case hearing be scheduled for Monday.

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PTI presents seven nominations to Imran Khan for the judicial commission.

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has proposed seven individuals to its founder, Imran Khan, for consideration as founding members of PTI for membership in the next Judicial Commission.

None of the nominated individuals are attorneys; rather, the roster includes four Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and three senators.

The proposed MNAs are Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Aamir Dogar, while the senators are Shibli Faraz, Mohsen Aziz, and Aun Abbas Bapi. Sources suggest that the Judicial Commission will include one opposition member from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The PTI founder will evaluate and endorse two names from the suggested list, which will then be sent to the Speaker for future actions.

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Miller confirmed that Biden’s administration got a letter from a congressman requesting the release of the PTI founder.

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Following his removal as prime minister in 2022, Khan started a protest movement against a coalition of his enemies led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Since then, he has been in jail since August 2023 and has been involved in hundreds of cases.

In response to ARY News’ question over the congressmen’s letter during a media briefing in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We will respond in due course to the members.”

The United States wants to see Pakistan maintain its democracy, Miller stated.

The release of the PTI founder’s wife and sisters was a result of a meeting between the US Deputy Assistant Secretary and a Pakistani government representative in Islamabad, which was further questioned during the press briefing.

“I won’t be addressing that,” Miller said when asked if the United States was involved in their release. Miller did, however, affirm that the conference included the defense of Pakistan’s basic liberties and rights.

Sixty-two members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden on October 24 to support the release of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and other political prisoners.

The congressmen, who included well-known Muslim members Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, said in their letter that the Biden administration should ask Pakistani authorities to guarantee the safety of PTI founder Imran Khan.

They also underlined that US policy should concentrate on Pakistan’s human rights situation and asked that US ambassadors attend the PTI leader’s incarceration.

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