Pak court adjourns hearing until Friday on Imran Khan's appeal against his Toshakhana case conviction

The Islamabad High Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing until Friday on the appeal filed by Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan challenging his conviction and sentence by a sessions court in the Toshakhana corruption case.

A panel of judges comprising IHC chief justice Amer Farooq and justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri resumed the hearing of appeal against the conviction of 70-year-old Khan in the Toshakhana case.

During the hearing, Khan’s lawyer Latif Khosa offered his argument against the conviction, asserting that the verdict was given in haste and it's full of shortcomings.

As the defence team completed arguments, the Election Commission of Pakistan lawyer Amjad Pervez started arguments. He told the court that he needed at least three hour to present his argument.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing until 11.30 a.m. Friday.

Separately, the Supreme Court also held a brief hearing and adjourned the case with remarks that it would wait for the outcome of hearing in the IHC.

A three-member apex court panel led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail conducted a hearing of the petitions in the Toshakhana case.

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.

After hearing spanning over months, Judge Humayun Dilawar of the Islamabad-based sessions court on August 5 awarded a three years sentence to Khan for hiding the proceeds he got from the sale of state gifts.

Khan within days had challenged the conviction in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking to suspend his sentence and overturn the judgment.

The court held the initial hearing on August 22 but adjourned the cases till August 24 after the ECP Lawyer Amjad Pervez stated that he had not been provided with the record of the case and needed time to prepare.

Khan’s lawyer Latif Khosa opposed the move by the ECP counsel and pressed for a hearing and grant of request to suspend the sentence of Khan. However, the panel of judges had granted the request of the ECP lawyer and adjourned the hearing until Thursday.

Earlier, the Supreme Court on Wednesday hearing various petitions against the Toshakhana case observed that there were "shortcomings" in the judgment of the sessions court.

The panel observed that the verdict was given in haste and without giving right of defence to the accused. "Prima facie, there are shortcomings in the trial court verdict,” the chief justice said.

The apex court had also stated it would wait for the IHC hearing before giving its judgment. It resumed hearing Thursday but adjourned it without fixing any date after it was told that the IHC was holding a hearing.

The Toshakhana case was filed by ruling party lawmakers in 2022 in the ECP, alleging that Khan concealed the proceeds from the sale of state gifts.

The ECP first disqualified him and then filed a case of criminal proceedings in a sessions court which convicted him and subsequently Khan was sent to jail.

Khan is currently in Attock Jail where he was lodged after arrest following his conviction. He has also been disqualified for five years.

The case alleges that Khan had “deliberately concealed” details of the gifts he retained from the Toshaskhana - a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept - during his time as the prime minister from 2018 to 2022 and proceeds from their reported sales.

According to Toshakhana rules, gifts/presents and other such materials received by persons to whom these rules apply shall be reported to the Cabinet Division.

According to reports, Khan received 58 gifts worth more than Rs 140 million from world leaders during his three-and-a-half-year stint and retained all of them either by paying a negligible amount or even without any payment.