Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, right, with his wife Bushra Bibi, center, arrive to appear in a court in Lahore, Pakistan, on June 26, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

A court in Pakistan on July 14 handed over jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to the country’s anti-corruption officials on an eight-day remand for probe in a fresh case of alleged corruption.

The former first couple was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) soon after a district and sessions court on July 13 quashed their conviction in their un-Islamic marriage case.

The court’s short order also stated to release Khan and Bibi immediately unless they were wanted in other cases.

The NAB, which filed a new Toshakhana case against the couple, on July 14 presented them before Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich of the accountability court.

The judge conducted the hearing inside the Adiala Jail due to security reasons.

NAB Deputy Director Mohsin Haroon, who led the team to arrest them, requested their physical remand and the court, after hearing the lawyers, agreed to grant an eight-day remand.

The court then ordered to present the two on July 22.

The remand period can be extended to a maximum of 40 days at the request of NAB if it is needed to probe the suspects.

The new Toshakhana case is based on the accusation that the couple during Khan’s government purchased gifts from the state depository in violation of rules.

This is the third Toshakhana case and Khan’s sentence in the two previous Toshakhana cases had been suspended by the Islamabad High Court.

Last week, the Supreme Court in a key judgment declared that Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was eligible for the seats reserved for women and minorities in the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies.

The PTI will become the largest party in the National Assembly with 109 seats after the Supreme Court ruling.

Two successive victories for Khan were being interpreted as some kind of change of heart on the part of the powerful establishment towards the PTI and its founder, but the subsequent developments belie any such possibility.

Khan faces a slew of cases launched against him since his ouster from power in April 2022 after he fell out with the establishment which was believed to be instrumental in bringing him to power.

Chairman of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party Gohar Khan, centre, celebrates with party supporters, after a court overturned the conviction and seven-year prison sentence of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

A Pakistani court on July 13 overturned the conviction and seven-year prison sentence of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife in the case of the couple’s alleged 2018 unlawful marriage case, removing the last known hurdle in the way of his release nearly a year after he was jailed, lawyers said.

Naeem Panjutha, one of Mr. Khan’s lawyers, said the court announced the verdict in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where the former Premier is being held.

The acquittal comes two weeks after another appeals court upheld the February 5 conviction and sentence of Mr. Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi.

The court in its brief order said if the couple is not wanted in any other case, they should be released.

Ms. Bibi is Mr. Khan’s third wife and a spiritual healer. She was previously married to a man who claimed that they divorced in November 2017, less than three months before she married Mr. Khan. Islamic law, as upheld by Pakistan, requires a three-month waiting period before a new marriage.

Ms. Bibi has said they divorced in August 2017 and the couple insisted during the trial that they did not violate the waiting period.

It was unclear how the government would respond to the court order. Authorities have registered multiple cases against Mr. Khan since 2022 when he was ousted from power through a vote of no-confidence in the Parliament.

The latest development came a day after Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled that the party of Mr. Khan was improperly denied at least 20 seats in parliament, in a significant blow to the country’s fragile governing coalition.

Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party was previously excluded from a system that gives parties extra seats reserved for women and minorities in the National Assembly, or lower house of the Parliament. Though the verdict was a major political win for Mr. Khan, it would not put his party in a position to oust the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who came into power following a February 8 election that Mr. Khan allies say was rigged.

Mr. Khan has been embroiled in more than 150 legal cases, including inciting violence, since his arrest in May 2023. During nationwide riots that followed that, Mr. Khan’s supporters attacked the military and government buildings in various parts of the country and torched a building housing state-run Radio Pakistan in the northwest.

The violence subsided only when Mr. Khan was released by the Supreme Court. Mr. Khan was again arrested in early August 2023 after a court handed him a three-year jail sentence for corruption.

Since then, Mr. Khan has been given bail by different courts in all the cases in which he has been convicted.

Pakistan former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
| Photo Credit: AP

Pakistan’s jailed former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was on Sunday implicated by the police in eight more cases in connection with the unprecedented mayhem on May 9 in 2023 following the arrest of ex-premier Imran Khan in a case of alleged corruption, according to a media report on Monday.

The 67-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader is currently imprisoned in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail after his conviction in various cases.

On Sunday, a special police team approached the Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore seeking permission to arrest, interrogate and summon Qureshi in an FIR registered with the Sarwar Road police station, Geo News reported.

However, the court denied the permission citing “security reasons”. Instead, the court allowed the investigation officer to visit Adiala Jail for interrogation of the former Foreign Minister within three days.

“The accused shall be deemed to be on physical remand for that purpose,” read the court order.

Riots were triggered almost across the country on May 9 last year after Khan’s arrest in the 190 million pounds settlement case. Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were arrested for their involvement in violence and attacks on key military installations.

A special court established under the Official Secrets Act had handed Qureshi 10 years in jail in the cipher (secret diplomatic communication) case along with the jailed former premier Khan.

During the May 9 protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Terming the May 9 violence as “Black Day”, the military decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.

Reacting to the police implicating Qureshi in more cases, a spokesperson of the PTI said that the court had already granted bail to the former ruling party’s vice-chairman in these cases.

“Law was flouted again to keep Qureshi behind bars by making the court’s order ineffective practically,” he said.

The spokesperson said that Qureshi was being punished for firmly sticking with the ideology of the PTI founder. Lawlessness was reaching new highs in the country, he added.

Police fire tear gas to disperse supporters of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan protesting against the arrest of their leader, in Peshawar, Pakistan, on May 9, 2023. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on October 23 declared the trial of civilians arrested following the violent protests on May 9 in military courts as “null and void” and ordered authorities to conduct their hearing in ordinary courts.

A five-member bench of the Supreme Court led by Justice Ijazul Ahsan in its short verdict ordered that 102 accused arrested under the Army Act be tried in the criminal court.

The court, which announced its verdict within hours after it was reserved during the day at the conclusion of the hearing, ruled that the trial of any civilian if held in military court has been declared “null and void”.

Also Read: Probe finds ex-Pak PM Imran Khan and top party leadership involved in orchestrating May 9 violence

The bench comprising Justices Ahsan, Muneeb Akhtar, Yahya Afridi, Mazahir Naqvi, and Ayesha Malik announced its verdict on a dozen petitions challenging the trial of more than 100 civilians in military courts following the unprecedented violence in the country after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 9.

The pleas were filed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Supreme Court Bar Association, eminent lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, former Chief Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and members of the civil society among others.

The bench heard the pleas against the announcement by the government that those involved in attacks on military installations on May 9 would be tried under military laws.

According to the Pakistani Army, 102 accused have been handed over to the military authorities for trial.

They have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the attacks on key military establishments, including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the Corps Commander’s House in Lahore, Pakistan Air Force Base Mianwali, and an office of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Faisalabad.

Also Read: Pakistan’s interim PM Kakar terms May 9 violence ‘attempted coup’

Attorney General Mansoor Awan at the outset of the hearing said that the military trials of civilians had formally commenced and all the requirements would be fulfilled in the process.

“All the requirements of a criminal case will be met in the trial under the Army Act,” he said.

The court, after hearing the arguments, had reserved its judgment earlier today.

The Supreme Court on October 20 announced that it will restart the hearing of the case after a gap of more than two months.

The last time a six-judge Supreme Court bench heard the case was on August 3 but a new bench was set up as the previous one was formed by the former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial. The previous bench had postponed further proceedings for an indefinite period.

Also Read: Pakistan military court should not begin trial of civilians involved in May 9 violence without informing Supreme Court, says top judge

The government during the hearing had assured the court that their trial had not started as yet.

The case is deemed an important one as it will settle the issue of the trial of civilians by the military courts.

Meanwhile, at least nine accused facing trials under the Army Act moved the apex court on October 22 for early conclusion of their cases by the military courts.

In their separate applications, the suspects pleaded that they have complete faith and confidence in the military authorities to provide justice to them and to other accused persons.

Pakistan’s former High Minister Imran Khan was once sentenced on fees of unlawfully promoting surrounding items received by means of him and his population right through his 2018-2022 tenure. Report
| Photograph Credit score: Reuters

The Islamabad Top Courtroom on August 28 reserved its verdict on former Pakistan High Minister Imran Khan’s plea searching for the postponed of his three-year prison time period within the Toshakhana corruption case.

A section bench comprising Islamabad Top Courtroom (IHC) Prominent Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri reserved the decision then listening to each events’ counsels.

The bench then stated that the reserved judgment can be introduced at 11.00 a.m. on Tuesday.

Right through his arguments, the Election Fee of Pakistan’s (ECP) recommend Amjad Pervaiz prompt the IHC to factor a understand to the surrounding to form it a respondent within the case as, he stated, the legislation made it essential, Daybreak newspaper reported.

When Pervaiz concluded his arguments, Khan’s attorney Latif Khosa stated he didn’t have any objections to the ECP recommend’s plea to factor a understand to the surrounding.

Due to this fact, the courtroom reserved its verdict at the case.

An ordeal courtroom had convicted and sentenced the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman to 3 years in jail on August 5 within the case.

Khan was once sentenced on fees of unlawfully promoting surrounding items received by means of him and his population right through his 2018-2022 tenure. He has additionally been barred from politics for 5 years, fighting him from contesting an after election.

The IHC bench had adjourned the listening to on Friday then the attorney representing the Election Fee of Pakistan (ECP) Amjad Pervez failed to seem because of infection.

Khan’s attorney Latif Khosa finished his argument towards the conviction on Thursday, saying that the decision was once given in haste and filled with shortcomings.

He prompt the courtroom to put aside the sentence however the defence group demanded extra occasion to finish its arguments.

Many imagine {that a} beneficial ruling for Khan would possibly come then the Excellent Courtroom highlighted faults within the judgment convicting Khan.

Latter past, the Excellent Courtroom stated “procedural defects” in Khan’s conviction however watch for the IHC determination at the former high minister’s plea.

The case was once introduced endmost yr in October at the criticism of the Election Fee of Pakistan (ECP) which had previous disqualified Khan in the similar case.

Upcoming a listening to spanning over months, Pass judgement on Humayun Dilawar of the Islamabad-based periods courtroom on August 5 awarded a three-year sentence to Khan for hiding the proceeds he were given from the sale of surrounding items.

Khan inside days challenged the conviction within the Islamabad Top Courtroom (IHC), searching for to droop his sentence and tumble the judgment.

The courtroom held the preliminary listening to on August 22 however adjourned the instances until August 24 then ECP attorney Pervez failed to show up. Khan’s recommend Suggest Khosa had expressed his dissatisfaction with the courtroom, pronouncing he would no longer seem on the after listening to.

Due to this fact, IHC Prominent Justice Farooq, who was once presiding over the listening to and in whom the PTI well-known has expressed a shortage of self assurance, had asserted he would come to a decision at the subject on Monday “even if no one appears”.

One by one, a three-member Excellent Courtroom panel led by means of Prominent Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail was once additionally listening to petitions towards the Toshakhana case.

The Excellent Courtroom held a temporary listening to on Thursday and adjourned the case with remarks that it could watch for the result of the listening to within the IHC.

The Toshakhana case was once filed by means of ruling celebration lawmakers in 2022 within the ECP, alleging that Khan non-transperant the proceeds from the sale of surrounding items.

The ECP first disqualified Khan and after filed a case of prison lawsuits in a periods courtroom which convicted him and due to this fact, Khan was once despatched to prison.

Khan is lately in Attock Prison following his arrest from his Lahore house The case alleges that Khan had “deliberately concealed” main points of the items he retained from the Toshaskhana – a repository the place items passed to executive officers from overseas officers are stored – right through his occasion because the high minister from 2018 to 2022 and proceeds from their reported gross sales.

As consistent with Toshakhana regulations, items/items and alternative such fabrics won by means of individuals to whom those regulations practice will likely be reported to the Cupboard Section.

In step with experiences, Khan won 58 items significance greater than Rs 140 million from global leaders right through his three-and-a-half-year stint and retained they all both by means of paying a minute quantity and even with none cost.