Pakistan: Imran Khan gets one-day exemption from appearance in Toshakhana case
Jul 06, 2023
Islamabad [Pakistan], July 6 : A sessions court in Pakistan on Thursday accepted former Prime Minister Imran Khan's plea for personal exemption from the Toshakhana case hearing, reported Dawn.
The relief was granted to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman after his counsel Gohar Ali Khan told Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar that Khan was due to appear before the Lahore High Court on Friday.
He also requested the court to fix any date for a hearing after July 10.
Despite the request for extended exemption, the court granted PTI chief Imran Khan a day-long exemption while instructing his counsel to ensure the former PM's presence in court on Friday.
The sessions court took up the case today a couple of days after the Islamabad High Chief Justice Aamer Farooq overturned the ruling of the local court against Imran's challenge to the maintainability of the Toshakhana case and remanded the case back to the trial court to re-examine the matter within seven days, Dawn reported.
The IHC chief justice also asked the sessions court to keep in view the eight legal questions that were framed to decide the maintainability of the reference, based on an ECP complaint for concealing state gifts.
According to Dawn, the questions included "whether the complaint has been filed on behalf of ECP by a duly authorised person", "whether the decision of ECP dated 21.10.2022 is a valid authorisation to any officer of ECP to file a complaint", "whether the question of authorisation is a question of fact and evidence and can be ratified subsequently during course of proceedings."
The other questions framed for the trial court judge are related to technicalities.
The IHC chief justice, in his verdict also observed that the trial court judge did not address these questions and dealt with this case in a "very cursory and shoddy manner".
The matter pertains to the allegations that Imran Khan had "deliberately concealed" details of the gifts he retained from the Toshaskhana -- a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept -- during his time as the prime minister and proceeds from their reported sales.
Imran has faced a number of legal issues over his retention of gifts. The issue also led to his disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
