The Supreme Court has once again become the PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s final chance because the court can save him from disqualification in the Toshakhana (gift repository) case just as it certified him “honest and trustworthy” in PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi’s case before the last general elections.
Imran had recognized that the matter could find him in hot water during his tenure as Prime Minister.
When the case was heard in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), the PTI chief asked the then-AGP, Khalid Javed Khan, to personally appear before Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb to oppose any order requiring disclosure of details about the gifts given to him by foreign dignitaries.
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However, he was deposed in April 2022, and the current government chose to make public all presents provided to the former premier throughout his tenure.
Following that, PML-N lawyer Mohsin Ranjha petitioned the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for his disqualification due to his misstatement concerning the acquisition and selling of Toshakhana presents.
The ECP found the PTI head guilty of “false statements and incorrect declaration” in October 2022. The panel decided that the PTI chief engaged in corrupt acts, as described in Sections 167 and 173 of the Elections Act of 2017.
Section 174 of the Elections Act makes certain acts illegal.
“The office is directed to initiate legal proceedings and take follow-up action under Section 190(2) of the Elections Act, 2017,” according to the ECP decision. Last year, the ECP filed a complaint in an Islamabad sessions court seeking Imran’s disqualification.
The trial in the Toshakhana matter is now nearing its conclusion, and the trial court has summoned the PTI head to testify under Section 342. Previously, Imran challenged the complaint’s viability, but was unable to obtain total relief from the IHC.
As a result, the PTI head petitioned the Supreme Court for remedy.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has scheduled a hearing on Wednesday (today) before a division bench of the Supreme Court comprised of Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
Both of these judges are from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Justice Afridi is well-known for his unwavering integrity as a judge.
However, he is also known for his ‘unpredictability’. Since his appointment to the Supreme Court, he has mostly recused himself from hearing matters on his own motion. Justice Afridi dismissed a constitutional challenge submitted by Justice Qazi Faez Isa in opposition to the presidential reference demanding his dismissal.
In this case, however, he granted the higher bars’ pleas.
He also disagreed with the majority view on the presidential reference filed by the PTI administration in connection with holding Senate elections via open ballots in the absence of a constitutional amendment.
Justice Afridi ruled that the reference was unsustainable and referred to the Senate elections as a political affair. The judge also dismissed arguments regarding the delay in announcing the dates for the elections to the Punjab and K-P assemblies.
He stated that the case should first be decided in the high courts.
Imran’s appeal was recently brought before Justice Afridi’s bench, seeking the quashing of a FIR filed against him in the Abdul Razaq Shar murder case.
On Monday, the PTI chief was successful in obtaining interim relief from his bench.
In the Toshakhana case, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi is not on the bench hearing Imran’s petition.
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When the trial in the Panama Papers case was underway, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sought relief from the Supreme Court, but CJP Saqib Nisar denied him.
In a similar position, Imran is now approaching the Supreme Court.
Lawyers for the PML-N argue that the IHC decision in the Toshakhana case has already been implemented and that the lawsuit has become infructuous.
However, PTI lawyers are hoping that notifications will be sent to the respondents and that the trial court’s proceedings in the case will be stayed. If this occurs, it will be a significant blow for those working hard to get Imran disqualified before the general elections.
There is also a likelihood that the SC bench will prevent the trial court from making a final judgement in the case until the former issues its final ruling.
