Connect with us

Politics

Toshakhana case: IHC suspends Imran Khan’s arrest warrants

Published

on

  • IHC directs Khan to appear before sessions court on March 13.
  • Sessions court also orders PTI chief to appear on same date.
  • Ex-prime minister skipped lower court’s hearing despite today.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday suspended the non-bailable arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan — issued by a local court in the capital in the Toshakhana case.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq accepted the PTI chief’s plea against Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal’s decision and directed Khan to ensure that he appears before the lower court on March 13.

Following the high court’s decision, the sessions court, which was also hearing the Toshakhana case, ordered the former prime minister to appear before it, where he will be indicted.  

On February 28, Additional Sessions Judge Iqbal issued the former prime minister’s non-bailable arrest warrants for continuously failing to appear before the court in the Toshakhana case.

Islamabad police then raided Khan’s residence in Lahore’s Zaman Park but returned empty-handed as the law enforcers were informed that the former prime minister “wasn’t present” there.

Khan had then approached the same court for suspending the orders, but Judge Iqbal rejected his plea — prompting the deposed prime minister to move the IHC.

IHC’s hearing

At the outset of the hearing presided by CJ Farooq, Khan’s lawyer Qaisar Imam started his arguments, saying that an attempt on the PTI chief’s life was highly likely during his appearance at the local court.

CJ Farooq remarked that the arrest warrant had been issued to ensure Khan’s presence, not for his arrest. “Imran Khan should have appeared before the court,” the justice said.

He asked Khan’s lawyers to suggest a way to summon the deposed premier to the court. Issuing arrest warrants is the only way in the law to ensure a suspect’s appearance in court, he added

Meanwhile, Khan’s lawyer requested the court to suspend the arrest warrant. At this, the CJ asked what would the suspension do.

“The court is summoning you to conduct a trial. I wouldn’t issue any order that is out of common practice. Imran Khan would have to appear in person for indictment,” he remarked.

CJ Farooq further stated that Khan should appear in the lower court as he has to appear in IHC on March 9.

Lawyer Imam maintained that Khan had serious security threats.

IHC CJ told the lawyers to consult with Khan about his appearance in court. At this, CJ Farooq referred to last week’s appearance of Khan at the Lahore High Court.

“There was a huge crowd. Who knows who has come with what intention,” the justice said, adding that bringing thousands of people would make things worse.

The CJ then asked the lawyer to consult with the PTI chief and adjourned the hearing for 30 minutes.

“Stay fair with the system, don’t ridicule the system,” he remarked while asking the lawyers if he should suspend the trial in the lower court by giving a two months date.

The lawyers appeared in court upon resumption of the hearing for the second time, after consulting with Khan as per IHC CJ Farooq’s directive.

“Imran Khan should be given four weeks to appear in court,” Khan’s lawyer requested the court.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad advocate general contended that Khan doesn’t want to face trial.

The court then reserved the verdict and announced it hours later.

Khan skips lower court hearing

Meanwhile, the deposed prime minister skipped the hearing in the Islamabad sessions court in the Toshakhana case despite a non-bailable arrest warrant against him.

At the outset of the hearing earlier in the day, Sardar Masroof Khan, a junior lawyer of Khan’s legal team, appeared before the lower court. Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha and the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) lawyer Saad Hasan also appeared in court.

Additional sessions Judge Iqbal inquired whether Khan wouldn’t appear in court again today. The lawyer said it was not known whether the PTI chief would appear or not and that a senior legal team of the PTI chair would appear before the court at 10am. The court then adjourned the hearing till 10am.

When the hearing resumed, ECP’s lawyer Hasan requested the court to adjourn the hearing till March 9 as Khan is due in the IHC.

Ranjha supported the lawyer’s request saying that the PTI chief would surely appear before the high court on March 9.

However, Khan’s lawyer maintained that he had been informed that it would be easier for the former premier to appear in the lower court next week.

At this, the judge remarked that in other words, it meant Khan wouldn’t appear in the sessions court on March 9.

The judge directed Khan’s lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat to submit an affidavit. At this, the lawyer assured the court of submitting the document by 11am.

“It seems like Imran Khan won’t appear in court today again,” the judge remarked.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing till 2pm at the request of Khan’s lawyer.

As the hearing reconvened in the local court, Khan’s lawyer informed the court about filing a plea challenging the arrest warrant issued against the former prime minister in IHC.

Khan’s lawyer Marwat maintained that there were certain reasons behind the PTI chief skipping hearings. “Imran Khan said several times that he had threats to his life,” the lawyer said.

He said that Khan had been attacked in the lower court in the past and it seems like another attack on him would be made.

He further stated that the PTI chief would appear in the judicial complex and high court. At this, the judge said that he is issuing orders for security arrangements at the court for a hearing on March 9.

Khan’s lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat submitted the security report in court.

Khan has to come to Islamabad on March 9 as he has hearings on bail in the IHC and the judicial complex, said the judge.

He said that he will issue directives on security to the inspector general (IG) and the Interior Ministry.

“The Toshakhana case will be dealt with as per the law,” remarked the judge. The lawyer said that the IHC would reserve and announce its verdict on the arrest warrant suspension after a while.

Lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said that the court should ask questions about the security of the relevant institutes. “The court should decide on what the security agencies say,” he added.

The concerns over security conditions in court are something serious, he said.

The court then adjourned the hearing till the IHC’s orders. Following the high court’s order, the lower court ordered Khan to appear before it on March 13 for indictment.

Politics

Ex-Punjab CM Usman Buzdar becomes latest PTI leader to quit politics

Published

on

By

  • Buzdar cites current circumstances reason behind quitting politics.
  • Former CM calls on all stakeholders to reach a consensus.
  • He condemns May 9 incidents, says “we should avoid such incidents”.

Former Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar Friday became the latest Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader to quit politics in the aftermath of the May 9 violent riots.

“First of all, I condemn the May 9 incidents. The military installations which were targeted were properties of the state of Pakistan and I believe we should avoid such incidents,” Buzdar told journalists during a press conference in Lahore.

Buzdar, whose term as Punjab’s chief minister was cut short in March 2022, said he had always stood with the armed forces of Pakistan and will continue to do so.

“I have always committed to politics of nobility […] but due to the current circumstances, I have decided to quit politics,” the former chief minister, once considered to be close to PTI Chairman Imran Khan, said.

The former chief minister called on all stakeholders to reach a consensus and asked the authorities to release all those who were innocent from jail.

The heat

Khan’s party has been feeling the heat of the state’s might after his party workers burnt and smashed military installations, including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, after his arrest on May 9 — a day the army dubbed as “Black Day”.

Several party leaders and thousands of workers have been rounded up in connection with the violent protests and the army has insisted that the people involved in attacks on military installations be tried under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act.

A close aide of Khan, Asad Umar, has relinquished his posts of secretary general and core committee member, citing the ongoing situation.

Several party leaders and lawmakers — including Fawad Chaudhry, Shireen Mazari, Aamir Mehmood Kiani, Malik Amin Aslam, Mahmood Moulvi, Aftab Siddiqui, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan among others — have publicly denounced the attacks on the state installations and announced leaving the former ruling party since the May 9 vandalism.

Continue Reading

Politics

Imran Khan’s ‘rights abuses allegations’ ploy to distract from May 9 riots: PM Shehbaz

Published

on

By

  • PM says PTI chief “capable of going to any extreme”.
  • Says he is “not surprised” by Imran Khan’s “antics”.
  • “Everything about Imran Khan is hate, division and lie.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif slammed his predecessor Imran Khan for “misleading and baseless allegations” of “rights abuses”, saying that it was a ploy to distract attention from his involvement in May 9 events.

“Make no mistake about the evil intent behind Imran Niazi’s latest ploy to defame our law enforcement agencies and police. Yet again he is making misleading and baseless allegations of the “rights abuses” just to distract attention for his culpability in the tragic events of May 9,” the premier wrote on his official Twitter handle.

PM Shehbaz, who is also the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), also said that he was “not surprised” by the former prime minister’s “antics”.

Imran Khans rights abuses allegations ploy to distract from May 9 riots: PM Shehbaz

He added that the PTI chief was “capable of going to any extreme” as he “persistently” uses “foul language against the state institutions, incite[s] people to violence and attack[s] the state symbols and military installations & bring[s] down martyrs’ monuments”.

The prime minister went on to write on the tweet: “He [Khan] presides over a disinformation apparatus that deploys fake news methodically to fool the people. Everything about him is hate, division and lie.”

A crackdown has been launched against PTI following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan from the Islamabad High Court’s premises.

Khan’s arrest last month sparked days of street protests after which the PTI leaders’ exodus started, as security forces launched a crackdown against the party following the attacks on civil and military institutions, including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Lahore Corps Commander’s House (Jinnah House). At least eight people were killed in the violent protests almost across the country.

Amid these arrests, an exchange of accusations began between the Imran Khan-led PTI and the federal government involving alleged “ill-treatment” of the party’s women workers and supporters during the custody.

The government has maintained that the PTI’s claims are unfounded.

Last week, in a late-night press conference, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI planned to highlight human rights violations in Pakistan on a global scale after orchestrating a simulated raid at a certain known party worker, involving a rape and casualties caused by gunfire.

The security czar said that intelligence agencies intercepted an audio clip that sheds light on a conspiracy hatched by the PTI to malign the country’s law-enforcement agencies.

Reacting to his presser, Imran Khan on Sunday said Sanaullah is “so obviously trying to cover up and preempt the horror stories about to break in the media.”

“If there were any doubts about women being mistreated in jails, this press conference from this certified criminal should remove all such doubts,” he wrote on Twitter.

Continue Reading

Politics

PTI President Parvez Elahi arrested in Lahore

Published

on

By

  • Former Punjab CM was arrested by anti-corruption personnel.
  • He was wanted in Rs70m corruption case related to uplift funds.
  • Elahi’s son says his father was taken into custody in a fake case.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Parvez Elahi was arrested by anti-corruption officials from Lahore outside his home, Geo News reportedon Thursday. 

The former Punjab chief minister was taken into custody by the anti-corruption personnel after pulling over his car near Zahoor Elahi’s residence in Lahore’s Gulberg area.

Elahi’s spokesperson has confirmed the development.

The development came after an anti-corruption court last week discarded his interim bail over his failure to appear before the court citing health issues.

His arrest was required in the Rs70 million corruption case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for the Gujrat district.

The anti-corruption court judge also declared Elahi’s medical certificate bogus which claimed that he had been experiencing chest pain.

The anti-corruption spokesperson in a statement said Elahi was taken into custody while trying to flee and added that he was wanted in various corruption cases.

The spokesperson also said that Elahi was arrested as his bail was discarded by the court for submitting a fake medical certificate.

In a statement to the police, Elahi’s driver said the PTI leader was fleeing to Gilgit Baltistan along with a convoy of four vehicles.

He said Elahi was not travelling in a bulletproof vehicle and added that police tried to break the car’s window after the PTI president refused to open the gate.

Speaking to Geo News, Punjab caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir said Elahi was wanted by the anti-corruption police in a graft case.

He said the PTI president was fleeing from his residence when the police intercepted his vehicle and took him into custody.

The minister added that resistance was put up during the arrest but the police managed to arrest him.

The PTI leader’s spokesperson said Elahi’s son Rasikh and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s sister were also present with him during the arrest.

Elahi’s arrest came as hundreds of PTI leaders and workers have been arrested since May 9 violent protests erupted almost across the country.

The crackdown on PTI leadership in the wake of the May 9 riots triggered a wave of desertion in the former ruling party with many bigwigs including Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry, Aami Mehmood Kiani, Ali Zaidi and others have parted ways with the party in protest against the violent protests.

Elahi was appointed as the PTI president in March this year only a month after he along with 10 former MPAs left the PML-Q to join the PTI.

Moonis Elahi, the PTI president’s son — who is active in politics and played a key role in convincing his father to join the PTI ranks — said his father was arrested in a fake case.

Moonis said his father and mother had already asked them to support the PTI even if they were arrested.

Continue Reading

Trending