IHC accepts Imran Khan's appeals against sentence in Toshakhana-II case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday removed registry objections to the appeals filed by PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the Toshakhana-II case, directing that the appeals be formally numbered and fixed for hearing.

The matter was heard on Thursday by Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro of the Islamabad High Court.

Senior PTI lawyers Barrister Salman Safdar and Salman Akram Raja appeared before the bench. Imran Khan’s three sisters were also present in the courtroom. During the hearing, Justice Soomro approved two miscellaneous applications submitted by the jailed former prime minister and his spouse.

One application sought removal of objections raised on their main appeal against conviction, while the second requested an extension of time to address those objections. The court’s decision to accept the miscellaneous petitions clears a procedural hurdle that had delayed the formal listing of the appeals.

By ordering the appeals to be numbered and scheduled, the bench has paved the way for substantive proceedings in the high-profile Toshakhana-II case.

Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and Bushra Bibi had challenged their convictions in the case, which pertains to allegations involving the retention and sale of state gifts.

The registry had earlier raised technical objections to the filings, prompting the defence to seek judicial intervention for their removal and additional time to fulfil procedural requirements.

On February 16, the 24NewsHD TV channel reported that the registrar of IHC pointed out that the objections he had raised to an appeal filed by the PTI lawyers for the release of former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan on bail after suspending the sentence awarded to him in the Toshakhana-II case had not been addressed despite the passage of seven days.

The registrar said that seven days had been given to the petitioner to address these objections. “But now the time is up,” he said and added that when the objections persisted, the petition could be fixed for the hearing.

A petition had been filed in the IHC on Saturday, seeking suspension of the sentence handed to Imran Khan in the Toshakhana Bulgari set case on medical grounds.

Filed by Barrister Salman Safdar and Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry, Advocate, the petition stated that unless the appeal was decided in the case, the prison term awarded to him be suspended and he be released.