{"id":398,"date":"2023-08-26T01:09:53","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T01:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/trail-court-did-horrible-job-cj\/"},"modified":"2023-08-26T01:09:53","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T01:09:53","slug":"trail-court-did-horrible-job-cj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/trail-court-did-horrible-job-cj\/","title":{"rendered":"Trail Court did horrible job: CJ"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2014\u2013 Advocate Amjad Pervaiz fails to appear due to illness <\/strong>
\u2014\u2013 CJ says will decide on case on Monday \u201ceven if no one appears\u201d <\/strong>
\u2014\u2013 Justice Farooq argues \u201cwe can do what trial court did, but we will not\u201d <\/strong>
\u2014\u2013 CJ avers even if no one comes, we will announce decision<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Anzal Amin<\/strong><\/p>\n

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq on Friday observed that the trial court, which convicted former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan in Toshakahna case, \u201cdid wrong\u201d.
The judge\u2019s remarks came during the hearing of the PTI chief\u2019s appeal challenging the Toshakhana verdict, which sentenced him to three-year in prison and imposed a fine of Rs100,000 earlier this month.
Two-member IHC bench comprising CJ Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri heard the plea seeking suspension of Khan\u2019s conviction by the trial court\u2019s Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar. During the hearing today, the Election Commission of Pakistan\u2019s (ECP) legal counsel Amjad Parvez did not appear before the bench, citing ill health.
His assistant advocate asked the bench for an adjournment saying: \u201cFor the last eight months, we never sought adjournment.\u201d
He said that doctors had suggested Parvez bed rest.
At this, the IHC chief justice said: \u201cThe request for suspension of sentence is now at a critical stage.\u201d He added that arguments would have been completed in fifteen to twenty minutes.
He further said: \u201cWe can also do what the trial court did, but we will not.\u201d
The PTI has criticised the trial court\u2019s verdicy saying that the decision was announced in haste in the absence of the party chief and his lawyer. The court then adjourned the hearing till Monday. \u201cWe adjourn the case till Monday, and even if no one comes, we will annouce our decision,\u201d Justice Farooq said, adding that what the trial court had done was wrong.
At this, the PTI counsel Latif Khosa remarked: \u201cOne person has been in jail for twenty days. Will [you] keep the PTI chairman in jail for another three days? \u201cWe will not appear in court, do what you have to do.\u201d
He requested the bench to suspend the sentence today.
\u201cIf you are satisfied with their arguments on Monday, then send them back to jail,\u201d he requested.
Besides the sentence of incarceration, the additional district and sessions judge also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 after finding Khan guilty of graft in the Toshakhana case.
Following the PTI chief\u2019s arrest, it is the third petition the party had filed.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court (SC) Wednesday heard a petition challenging IHC\u2019s decision to remand the case back to the trial court judge who had convicted him, and observed that the trial court had hastened Toshakhana\u2019s verdict.
It acknowledged the \u201cprocedural defects\u201d in Khan\u2019s conviction but opted to wait for the IHC\u2019s decision on the former premier\u2019s plea seeking suspension of the three-year sentence.
Under the rules governing Toshakhana \u2014 a Persian word meaning \u201ctreasure house\u201d \u2014 government officials can keep gifts if they have a low worth, while they must pay a dramatically reduced fee to the government for extravagant items.
The Toshakhana has been under a microscope ever since the emergence of the allegations that Khan purchased the gifts he received as prime minister at throwaway rates and sold them off in the open market for staggering profits.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of misusing his 2018 to 2022 premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than Rs140 million ($635,000).
The gifts included watches given by a royal family, according to government officials, who have alleged previously that Khan\u2019s aides sold them in Dubai.
Moreover, seven wristwatches, six made by watchmaker Rolex, and the most expensive a \u201cMaster Graff limited edition\u201d valued at 85 million Pakistani rupees ($385,000), was also among the gifts.
A reference was forwarded by National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf to the Election Commission asking it to probe the matter.
In October 2022, the electoral body also declared the former premier guilty of corrupt practices and filed a complaint in an Islamabad court.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2014\u2013 Advocate Amjad Pervaiz fails to appear due to illness \u2014\u2013 CJ says will decide on case on Monday \u201ceven if no one appears\u201d \u2014\u2013 Justice Farooq argues \u201cwe can do what trial court did, but we will not\u201d \u2014\u2013 CJ avers even if no one comes, we will announce decision By Anzal Amin ISLAMABAD: 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