Imran leaves for Islamabad to attend Toshkhana case hearing
Pakistan
A district and sessions court in Islamabad is set to resume on Saturday (today) the hearing into the Toshakhana case against former prime minister Imran Khan, who avoided arrest despite a protracted effort by law enforcement personnel to apprehend him for skipping multiple previous hearings.
The PTI leader is scheduled to appear before the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Zafar Iqbal to attend proceedings on the complaint filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for allegedly concealing details of gifts in his assets declarations.
Accompanied by a convoy of his party workers, the PTI chief has departed from his residence in Zaman Park, Lahore, and is en route to Islamabad, according to the party.
The government had on Friday shifted the venue of the additional sessions court to a comparatively safer Judicial Complex for the hearing of the case after the PTI raised security concerns, Dawn reported.
The Chief Commissioner Office Islamabad issued a notification declaring Court No 1 Judicial Complex at G-11 as the venue for the hearing of the case filed by the district election commissioner against Imran, terming it a “one-time dispensation”.
In the last hearing on Thursday, the court rejected Imran’s plea seeking the suspension of non-bailable arrest warrants issued for him.
Additional District and Sessions (ADSJ) Judge Zafar Iqbal had passed the order while hearing the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) reference seeking criminal proceedings against former prime minister Imran Khan for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts.
However, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had on Friday suspended non-bailable arrest warrants issued for Imran, providing him with a chance to appear before the trial court on Saturday (today).
During yesterday’s hearing, Imran’s lawyer Khawaja Haris submitted an undertaking by his client, assuring it that the PTI chief would appear in court on March 18.
Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Zafar Iqbal will conduct the hearing.
The sessions court was set to indict Imran in the reference on Feb 28, but his lawyer had requested the judge that he be exempted from the hearing because he had to appear in several other courts. His indictment was deferred multiple times before.
The judge had subsequently issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Imran and instructed the police to present him in court by March 7. The PTI chief managed to dodge the arrest and later approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the cancellation of the warrants.
The IHC, while granting some relief to Imran, had told him to appear in the sessions court by March 13, but the former prime minister once again skipped the hearing. Resultantly, ADSJ Iqbal had on Monday re-issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Imran and directed the police to bring him to court by March 18.
However, when the police reached Imran’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore to arrest him on Tuesday, they were met with resistance, leading to two-day pitched battles between PTI supporters and law enforcement agencies. The clashes ultimately subsided after the courts intervened on Wednesday.
That same day, the PTI also challenged the latest arrest warrants issued for Imran in the IHC. It rejected the plea and directed the PTI chief to submit an undertaking to the trial court which states he would attend the hearing on March 18.
Upon submitting the undertaking, the sessions court remarked said the warrants could not be suspended on the basis of an undertaking.
The reference, which alleges that Imran had not shared details of the gifts he retained from the Toshaskhana (during his time as the prime minister) and proceeds from their reported sales, was filed by lawmakers from the ruling coalition last year. On October 21, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had concluded that the former premier had indeed made “false statements and incorrect declarations” regarding the gifts.
The Toshakhana is a department under the Cabinet Division that stores gifts given to rulers and government officials by heads of other governments and foreign dignitaries. According to Toshakhana rules, gifts/presents and other such materials received by persons to whom these rules apply shall be reported to the Cabinet Division.
The watchdog’s order had said Imran stood disqualified under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution.
Subsequently, the ECP had approached the Islamabad sessions court with a copy of the reference, seeking proceedings against Imran under criminal law for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure as the prime minister.
