PTI chief challenges IHC ruling in Toshakhana case
Pakistan
IHC CJ on Friday rejected PTI's petition to transfer the case to another court
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday moved the Supreme Court against the ruling of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the Toshakhana case.
A day earlier, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq issued the ruling on a set of petitions filed by the former prime minister challenging the admissibility of the case, jurisdiction of the court and other aspects of the case.
The high court again remanded the case to the trial court to decide on its maintainability by invalidating its previous decision. However, it rejected the PTI chief’s plea, seeking transfer of the case to another court, and ruled that Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar will continue the proceedings.
Expressing reservations on the ruling, PTI lawyer Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Friday that the high court had sent the matter back to the judge, who had issued verdict against the former premier. He said it would not meet the legal standards if the trial court reserved the verdict in the case.
Aggrieved by the IHC ruling, PTI chief’s counsel Khawaja Harris has filed a plea in the apex court.
The Case
Last year, a reference was filed against him by lawmakers from the ruling coalition accusing him of not sharing the details of gifts he retained from Toshakhana in his assets declarations and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had concluded in October last year that the PTI chief filed false statements regarding the gifts.
The electoral watchdog subsequently disqualified him for being dishonest and corrupt and approached the district and sessions court seeking criminal proceedings against the PTI chief for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts.
