ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court summoned the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and former prime minister, Imran Khan, in the murder case of Supreme Court lawyer Abdul Razzaq Shar.
The former prime minister has been directed to appear before the Supreme Court on July 24 at 10:30 am.
A three-judge bench, led by Justice Yahya Khan Afridi, presided over the plea of the former prime minister. At the beginning of the hearing, Latif Khosa, the counsel for the PTI chairman, requested the court to halt the proceedings of the case.
In his arguments before the apex court, Khosa contended that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) constituted by the government is against the law of the land. In response, Justice Afridi said the accused should surrender himself before the court first.
Justice Afridi questioned why Khan did not contact the relevant forum to quash the First Information Report (FIR) in the case. Khosa replied they had already filed a case in the Balochistan High Court (BHC) before approaching the SC.
Khosa further claimed that the case against his client was registered based on the complaint of the stepson of the deceased lawyer.
Justice Naqvi raised a concern regarding the filing of the case when the Investigating Officer (IO) had not named the PTI chairman as an accused. The Balochistan advocate general, upon inquiry, confirmed that non-bailable arrest warrants were not issued for the former prime minister based on his information.
The court, while instructing the former prime minister to appear before the court on July 24, adjourned the further hearing of the case.
The PTI chairman is facing charges of murder, terrorism, and other related offenses in the Shar murder case, registered at the Shaheed Jameel Kakar police station, based on the complaint filed by the deceased’s son.
