ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has dismissed former prime minister Imran Khan’s request that his trial on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts be halted on concerns over the merits of the trial and that the judge hearing it was biased.
The trial court case relates to an inquiry conducted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which found Khan guilty of unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister from 2019 to 2022.
The court decided to dispose of Khan’s appeal against an Islamabad High Court (IHC) decision and asked it to consider his appeal and other applications together.
The Supreme Court ruled that interfering with the proceedings of the trial court would not be appropriate. Khan’s appeal challenges the high court’s declaration of maintainability of the case.
Amjad Pervaiz, the election commission’s lawyer, said the high court had remanded the case back to the trial court, which then conducted a re-trial and deemed the case maintainable.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman’s re-appeal in the high court is scheduled for hearing tomorrow, as informed by the lawyer to the Supreme Court.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the ECP regarding Khan’s appeal. The hearing was conducted by a division bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Yahya Afridi.
Khan’s lawyer, Khawaja Haris, expressed their request to transfer the case to another judge and challenged the court’s jurisdiction. Justice Afridi remarked that the matter of jurisdiction should have been decided first, and the court will request the high court to decide all applications together.
During the hearing, the trial court called for Imran Khan’s statement under Section 342. The defense requested a stay of trial for that day and the case to be referred to the Islamabad High Court.
Justice Musarrat Hilali stated that they cannot issue directions to the trial court in this regard.
The court expressed anger over the commotion outside the courtroom before the hearing began. Justice Afridi sent Khawaja Haris to check the situation, emphasising the importance of respecting the court.
After the court’s dignity was restored, the bench returned to the courtroom after a 10-minute break, and the hearing resumed in silence.
— With Reuters
