Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday moved IHC against the district and sessions court order which upheld his arrest warrants in the Toshakhana case. A legal team of the former prime minister filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), a day after the district and sessions court had rejected Imran Khan’s plea and upheld his non-bailable arrest warrants in Toshakhana case and summoned him on March 18. Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal announced the verdict on a plea of the PTI chairman seeking suspension of his arrest warrants. The PTI had filed the petition after police reached Zaman Park to arrest the PTI Chairman in Toshakhana case.However, the registrar’s office of the Islamabad High Court raised objections to the petition, saying that former prime minister did not conduct biometric verification to submit his plea.

The District and Sessions Court Islamabad Thursday rejected Imran Khan’s plea and upheld his non-bailable arrest warrants in Toshakhana case. During the proceedings, the election commission’s counsel opposed the plea seeking suspension of the arrest warrants. “The court has rejected scores of pleas for exemption from attending the hearing earlier,” ECP counsel said. “Imran Khan has given declarations scores of times. DIG visited to talk with Imran Khan, but stones thrown at him,” lawyer said. “Warrants suspend when an accused appears in court. An extra-ordinary relief being demanded from the court,” counsel said. “Warrant was meant for production of an accused in court, where is he,” ECP lawyer questioned. “They are only interested in arrest of Imran Khan, when he himself want to appear,” Imran Khan’s counsel said.

“They want to degrade him,” lawyer said. The election commission lawyer asked the court that the undertaking should be considered in view of earlier assurances and pleaded to reject the petition seeking suspension of the arrest warrant. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana reference under Article 63(1)(p). In the written judgment, the ECP said: “As per the statement of Imran Khan he had purchased the gifts from Toshakhana paying 21.564 million rupees while the Cabinet Division said that the gifts had a value of 107.943 million.”

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP