Pakistan’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday observed that there were prima facie “shortcomings” in the trial court’s judgment in the Toshakhana corruption case against Imran Khan and said that the Supreme Court would wait for the Islamabad High Court’s order on the former premier’s appeal against his conviction and the three-year sentence before interfering in the case.
The chief justice’s observation came as a three-judge special bench of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by him and comprising Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail heard the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief’s pleas filed against the trial court’s proceedings of the Toshakhana corruption case.
On August 5, a trial court in Islamabad found Khan guilty of “corrupt practices” in a case pertaining to concealing details of state gifts and sentenced him to three years in prison. The verdict also means that he stood disqualified from contesting general elections for five years.
Subsequently, Khan, 70, approached the IHC against his conviction and sentence. A day earlier, the Islamabad High Court adjourned the case till Thursday.
During the hearing, the top court heard arguments by PTI lawyer Latif Khosa and Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) counsel Amjad Pervaiz.
After hearing both sides, Chief Justice Bandial said, “We will not interfere in the Toshakhana case today … we will look at the IHC hearing tomorrow (Thursday) and then resume the proceedings.”
However, the top judge observed: “Prima facie, there are shortcomings in the trial court verdict.”
The case was launched last year in October on the complaint of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which had earlier disqualified Khan in the same case.