ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan moved the Supreme Court on Saturday regarding the suspension of his conviction in the Toshakhana case until the final judgement on his appeal pending in the federal capital’s high court.
Represented by Advocate Latif Khosa, Imran appealed against the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) decision, emphasising that challenging this ruling is his prerogative and argued that being declared ineligible before the elections infringes upon his fundamental rights.
The PTI founder raised concerns about the election commission’s swift decision which he contended displayed bias.
Imran requested the apex court to nullify the IHC decision and suspend the sentencing in the Toshakhana case.
Expressing the urgency of the matter, the PTI founder urged the apex court to expedite proceedings, emphasising on the upcoming general elections. He stressed that the leader of the country’s “largest political party” should not be excluded from participating in the electoral process and requested the suspension of the decision in the Toshakhana case to enable his participation.
The capital’s high court on Tuesday dismissed Imran’s application seeking suspension of his conviction in the gift repository case. This order has effectively eliminated the possibility of the PTI founder contesting the upcoming general elections scheduled for February 8, 2024.
A division bench of the IHC presided over by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and comprising Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri unveiled its order on the former PM’s application requesting the IHC to modify its August 28 decision.
A trial court on August 5 convicted the PTI founder in a case related to misuse of the state’s gift repository — Toshkhana — and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on August 8 disqualified Imran as a lawmaker given his conviction.
The former premier approached the IHC against the trial court’s order and an IHC division comprising Justice Farooq and Justice Jahangiri on August 28 suspended his sentence.
The crux of the accusations revolves around Imran and Bushra allegedly retaining gifts received during their official visits to foreign countries while Imran served as the prime minister.
Instead of following the prescribed official protocol by depositing these gifts in the Toshakhana, the couple purportedly kept them and contributed an amount less than the stipulated value into the national treasury.
Bushra, in particular, is accused of holding on to various jewellery items received as gifts during official visits. The list of allegedly retained gifts includes a locket, two rings, two ear tops, and two bracelets received on June 26, 2019. In 2020, she reportedly acquired a diamond-studded gold necklace, ring, bracelet, and ear tops. The list expanded in 2021 with the addition of a necklace, earrings, ring, and bracelet.
