- The court asked the authorities to arrest Khan and produce him on March 18.
- The judge says that the decision has been taken after examining all aspects of the law.
- The judgment said that Khan had lost some of his ordinary rights.
ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court on Thursday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s plea to suspend his sentence. A non-bailable arrest warrant issued Released in the Toshakhana case.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal while pronouncing the reserved judgment directed the concerned authorities to arrest the former prime minister and produce him in the court on March 18.
He said that this decision has been taken after examining every aspect of the law, hoping that the petitioners will enjoy reading the detailed decision.
Imran Khan’s The indictment in RefThe hearing, which was scheduled to take place on February 28, was postponed several times due to his continued absence from the hearing. Later, the court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the PTI chairman.
The party contacted. Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday sought suspension of Khan’s non-bailable arrest warrant in the Tosha Khana case, but the high court directed the ousted prime minister’s lawyer to approach the trial court as his arrest warrant was “in accordance with law”. “was
The Additional District and Sessions Judge presided over today’s hearing where Khan’s counsel presented the court with two options — either suspend the warrant issued or issue a bailable warrant of arrest.
Meanwhile, Khan seems calmer after the situation at his Zaman Park residence. Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered to stop the police operation till 10 am today. But when the court resumed hearing today, it clarified that it had not stopped the police from executing the arrest warrant and asked the PTI to resolve the ongoing issue.
Clashes between PTI workers and the police continued for almost 24 hours Zaman Park In what became a virtual battleground, law enforcement agencies tried to wade through supporters and arrest Khan, who was ousted as prime minister last April.
Law enforcement agencies fired teargas shells and party supporters resorted to throwing Molotov cocktails, injuring several people, including policemen and PTI workers.
The legal proceedings against Khan began after he was ousted in a parliamentary vote early last year. Since then, he has held nationwide protest rallies calling for early elections, during one of which he was shot and wounded.
Written decision
“[…] “It is concluded that the petition is untenable in law as well as in fact which is dismissed,” the written judgment said.
The judgment said that the petitioner “prayed that in view of the affidavit filed by him and the sureties furnished by him to the satisfaction of this Court, the order dated 13.03.2023 may be kindly recalled.” and the warrant of arrest should be suspended.
“Considering the law and order situation created by the petitioner, he has lost some of the normal rights conferred by the procedural as well as fundamental laws and he has been de facto convicted by the court for deviating from the judicial process. Have to surrender in front of.
“Such occurrences are never appreciated by the court and are treated as willful defaults.”
Justice Iqbal asserted that the law is equal for the powerful and the weak sections of the society and such an act is no joke after causing huge loss to the public exchequer as well as damage to persons and property.
“Considering the issuance of the non-bailable warrant of arrest and the post-order development of the petitioner’s conduct and conduct, the warrant cannot be quashed solely on the basis of his liability,” it said.
Today’s hearing
At the start of the hearing, PTI chief’s lawyer Khawaja Haris read out the Islamabad High Court’s order on the party’s plea against the arrest warrant.
In response, the judge said the trial court had not received the IHC’s order through the official process, but noted that the issue could be resolved in a second and asked where Khan was.
Has Imran Khan presented himself in court? asked the judge. On this, Haris asked the judge whether it is necessary for the former prime minister to appear in court in person.
“We want Imran Khan to appear in court, why is he not presenting himself before us? What is the reason?” He said that according to the law, Khan should help the police and not resist.
“Imran Khan created a scene by resisting [arrest]The judge said, adding that the IHC order also mentioned that the lower court’s order should not be affected by “illegal measures”.
The judge also remarked that if the warrants were bailable, “there would be no problem” but the warrants issued against Khan were non-bailable. The judge told the lawyer that the arguments you have presented are related to a bailable warrant of arrest.
Harris then asked the judge if he wanted to stay strict and keep Khan’s arrest warrant active. The judge added that the warrant was issued to ensure Khan’s personal presence.
The lawyer then added that Khan himself has said that he wants to appear in court and is not seeking any immunity.
You have two options, Harris said, adding that the first option is to suspend the non-bailable warrant by accepting the undertaking request, and the second option is to accept the bail and issue a bailable arrest warrant. Is.
The PTI lawyers requested to suspend the arrest warrant and said that Khan wants to give an oath to the court that he will appear in the session court on March 18.
The judge then said that a notice should also be issued to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). On this, the lawyer said that the court should issue a notice and summon the Election Commission today.
Judge Iqbal also asked Khan’s lawyer why the condition of Lahore’s Zaman Park is so bad. “This warrant has become the most expensive not only in Pakistan but in the world. The government has spent crores of rupees to pursue this warrant.”
Khan’s lawyer lamented that what was happening in Zaman Park should not have happened, to which the judge said that Khan should have been brought straight to court.
“It is not possible for Imran Khan to be harassed while appearing in court, we are a poor country and it is not possible to spend crores of rupees on warrants.”
The judge added that if the PTI chief surrendered to the authorities, he would ask the police to stand down and asked the lawyer how Khan’s warrant could be modified.
Haris then pleaded that Khan was giving an undertaking and the court should suspend his warrant. Warrants were issued according to law, then why? [authorities] Facing resistance? This is the nation’s money. The most you could do was hold a peaceful protest.”
The judge said that suspects in criminal cases appear in court and once they do, non-bailable arrest warrants are suspended. The police cannot sit idly by when the March 18 arrest warrant is issued.
The judge then added that he was issuing a notice to the ECP and adjourned the hearing till 12 noon.
When the hearing resumed, Law Officer Tahir Kazim told the court that the investigating officer of the case is in Lahore and the lawyer of the Election Commission will appear in the court at 2:30 pm.
Khan’s lawyer urged the court to exercise its discretion and suspend the arrest warrant and if the judge wants to reinstate the warrant at 2:30 p.m., the lawyer needs time to file an appeal against it.
Harris said that the court should decide after analyzing all the aspects. In response, Judge Iqbal said that the decision of the court is correct and in accordance with the law.
The judge said if Khan had presented himself earlier, the situation would have been different as his absence has complicated matters. “The court wants to fully cooperate with Imran Khan and does not want to harm him in any way, but the rules should be followed.”
The court said it had to follow the orders of the IHC, which held that the trial court’s decision to issue the arrest warrant was legally justified.
The PTI chief’s legal counsel then reiterated his plea to suspend Khan’s warrant and asked the court to issue a bailable arrest warrant. He also mentioned that the IHC has also asked to consider the undertaking.
Haris said that Imran Khan will appear in the court not once but many times, Imran Khan will also appear in the court on March 18.
The court then said that it was “very strange” for Khan to resist arrest and noted that violence should not have happened.
After which the judge adjourned the proceedings till the appearance of ECP’s counsel.
When the hearing resumed, Islamabad Inspector General of Police Akbar Nasir Khan said that the police representatives were not allowed to meet the former prime minister.
The IGP said that none of the PTI leadership spoke to the Islamabad police and instead Molotov cocktails were thrown at them. “Police personnel present at Zaman Park were subjected to torture to implement the court orders.”
He added that the personnel were not carrying any weapons and asked the court how they would respond to the families of the injured law enforcement personnel.
“In the past, it was not unusual for the police to arrest someone from their home and bring them to court. If one person is given immunity, others should be given the same.”
The judge asked the IG how much government property was damaged. Khan told the court that 65 police personnel were injured and a police water cannon was set on fire.
ECP counsel Saad Hasan termed Khan’s demand to suspend the arrest warrant as ‘ridiculous’ and said that unless an accused presents himself in court, his warrant cannot be suspended. He then asked the court to uphold his warrant.