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In a significant legal turn of events, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has suspended the sentence of former Pakistan cricket captain and political leader, Imran Khan, in the Toshakhana case. The IHC’s decision, which came on Tuesday, followed a previous day’s announcement where the court directed authorities to release the renowned all-rounder on bail.
The precise reasons behind the sentence suspension will be detailed in a forthcoming verdict from the court. To secure his bail, Imran Khan has been instructed to submit a surety bond of Rs100,000.
This development marks a significant legal triumph for Khan, who had vehemently contested his conviction and sentence related to the Toshakhana case. A district and sessions court in the federal capital had, earlier this month, sentenced Khan to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs100,000, effectively barring him from participating in upcoming elections.
Imran Khan’s Toshakhana Case: Sentence Suspended
Imran Khan, the former prime minister, faced disqualification from holding public office due to his conviction and had been promptly detained in Attock jail following the trial court’s ruling on August 5.
Subsequently, Khan filed a petition with the high court, challenging the decision of Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar, who had found him guilty in the Toshakhana case, filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The proceedings regarding Khan’s plea concluded on Monday, presided over by a division bench consisting of IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri. During the proceedings, the counsel representing the Election Commission of Pakistan, Amjad Pervaiz, argued against PTI Chief Khan’s pleas.
Khan’s counsel, Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, had centered his defense on three key aspects: suspension of Khan’s short sentence, jurisdictional defect, and improper authorization. However, the electoral body’s lawyer countered these objections during Monday’s hearing, asserting that the objections to the maintainability of the ECP’s complaint were baseless.
He contended that the defense’s presented witnesses, who were tax consultants, were irrelevant, as the complainant accused the former PM of submitting a false declaration of assets. Furthermore, he opposed the request for the suspension of Khan’s sentence, emphasizing that this matter was not an automatic right but lay within the discretion of the court, to be exercised judiciously.
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PCB under hot waters for excluding cricket great Imran Khan from Independence Day video
