— Court says criminal proceedings case against former premier ‘inadmissible’
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday announced its reserved verdict providing relief to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief as it declared the criminal proceedings against him in the Toshakhana (gift repository) case inadmissible.
On November 22 last year, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had sent the Toshakhana reference to the trial court for initiating criminal proceedings against the PTI chief under sections 137, 170 and 167 of the Election Act, 2017.
The reference was sent to the court a month after a four-member ECP bench unanimously declared that the PTI chairman had misled officials about the gifts he had received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure as prime minister.
On March 30, the trial was adjourned till April 29 in view of Ramazan and Eid holidays. However, on April 4, the election supervisor requested the court to set an earlier date for hearing the case and the court on April 8 decided to hear the ECP’s request on April 11.
Meanwhile, 10 cases filed in Islamabad local court against the deposed premier have been moved to the Judicial Complex. A notification in this regard has also been issued.
Two cases filed in Shahzad Town and Tarnol police stations would be heard today. Cases filed in Karachi Company, Kohsar, Ramna, Secretariat, Margalla and Khanna police stations would also be heard on Tuesday.
Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, presiding over the court, delivered the verdict, which had been reserved on June 23, in response to a petition moved by the chairman of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party seeking to have the case declared inadmissible.
The case centres on a government department known as Toshakhana — which during the Mughal era referred to the treasure houses kept by the subcontinent’s princely rulers to store and display gifts lavished on them.
Government officials must declare all gifts to the Cabinet Division, but are allowed to keep those below a certain value.
More expensive items must go to Toshakhana under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division, but in some cases, the recipient can buy them back at around 50 percent of their value — a discount Khan raised from 20 percent while in office.
The ruling coalition of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties has for months alleged Khan and his wife, Bushra Maneka, received lavish gifts worth millions during trips abroad. They included luxury watches, jewellery, designer handbags and perfumes.
Khan was indicted in the Toshakhana case on May 10 by Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar, who had dismissed objections regarding the case’s admissibility.
Subsequently, he approached the IHC, which had temporarily halted criminal proceedings in the case until June 8.
The hearing resumed in June, and Justice Aamer reserved his verdict on June 23, stating that he would address the matter following the conclusion of Eid al-Adha.
In his petition, Khan raised objections to the filing of a complaint after a specified period.
His lawyer, Khawaja Haris Ahmad, argued that a complaint could only be lodged within four months of submitting the return.
However, a day prior to the verdict, Khan submitted a separate petition to the court, requesting Justice Aamer’s recusal from the case.
In the petition, the former prime minister sought the transfer of the two Toshakhana cases to another bench to ensure a “fair and impartial” trial.
The petition also identified the district election commission as the respondent in the case.
