Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan got big relief as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday declared the session court’s maintainability verdict in the Toshakhana case against him null and void.
While IHC remarked that the session court should hear and decide again. On the other hand, the court has also rejected PTI Imran Khan’s request to transfer the case to another court.
The IHC also issued a notice on the application against the decision to reject the list of witnesses. “Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar will hear the case,” the verdict read.
Petition dismissed by SC
Earlier today, the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed Imran’s plea against trial proceedings pertaining to the Toshakhana case after the former PM withdrew the petition. The three-member bench hearing the case, led by Justice Yahya Afridi and comprising Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Musarat Hilali, heard Khan’s petition against the Toshakhana case.
“The trial court cannot decide on the Toshakhana case until the final decision of the High Court,” the bench ruled.
On Thursday, the IHC reserved its verdict on Imran’s plea challenging the admissibility of the Toshakhana case, transfer of the case to another judge, and challenging the jurisdiction of the trial court.
The PTI chief had filed another petition challenging the additional district and sessions court’s order of abolishing his right of defence in the Toshakhana case.
Imran moved the IHC against the order, requesting it to declare the trial court’s order null and void and restoring his right of defence.
Toshakhana case
The PTI chief was accused of misusing his 2018 to 2022 premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than Rs140 million ($635,000). The gifts included watches given by a royal family, according to government officials, who have alleged previously that Khan’s aides sold them in Dubai.
