Islamabad (Web Desk): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against former premier Imran Khan's conviction in the Toshakhana case.
In the petition, the PTI requested the IHC to declare Additional and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar's verdict in the Toshakhana case "null and void".
The petition was filed by the PTI chief's lawyers Khawaja Haris and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan.
The petitioner's counsels requested the high court to issue an order for the release of the PTI chief by suspending the sentence pending the decision on the central appeal.
The petition said that the August 5 order was passed “with the pre-disposed mind” of the trial court judge to convict and sentence the appellant “irrespective of the merits of the case”.
It said the order was issued without providing the petitioner with a chance to fight his case and alleged that ADSJ Dilawar had refused to hear the arguments of Khawaja Haris, Imran’s counsel in the Toshakhana case, on the pretext that he was late, which the plea claimed was because he was filing other applications with the Supreme Court and IHC.
On August 5, former premier Imran Khan was arrested from his Lahore's Zaman Park residence and and sent to Attock jail after a trial court in Islamabad sentenced him to three years in prison while imposing on him a fine of Rs100,000 for making false declarations about his assets to the polls supervisory body, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
On October 21, 2022, the ECP had disqualified the former premier in the Toshakhana reference under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution for making "false statements and incorrect declaration".
Imran was indicted in the Toshakhana case on May 10 when a trial court rejected his petition challenging the maintainability of the reference.
The PTI chief had challenged the trial court's decision before the IHC, which sent the case back to the trial court for re-examination.