Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
| Photo Credit: AP

Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday (August 27, 2024) reiterated that the Army and the ISI are responsible for his condition and expressed fear for his life.

Khan, 71, lodged at the Adiala Jail since last year, also blamed the current dispensation for being averse to criticism, for the deteriorating law-and-order situation across the country, and also for ruining Pakistan’s cricket that is facing repeated defeats.

In a post on X from jail, Khan repeated claims about rigged elections and said only a government with a genuine mandate will be able to plan for fundamental reforms.

“The ISI controls all administrative matters related to my imprisonment. I’m saying it again: if anything happens to me, the Army Chief and DG ISI will be responsible,” the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said in a detailed post on X.

Khan’s comments come two days after the Pakistan government said that the former prime minister’s trial in cases concerning the violence on May 9 last year might go to the military courts.

“The events and vandalism on May 9 last year invited the application of the Army Act since military installations were attacked and damaged,” Government spokesperson for legal affairs Barrister Aqeel Malik had said.

On May 9 last year, violent protests erupted after Khan’s arrest by paramilitary Rangers from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in connection with an alleged corruption case.

His party workers allegedly vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander House), the Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. A mob also attacked the Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Khan’s longish post on X started with “reminding” the nation of the two attempts on his life: first in Wazirabad, Punjab province and then again at the Judicial Complex in Islamabad.

The ISI stole the CCTV footage from Wazirabad, and the night before the attack in Islamabad, the ISI had taken control of the area where it happened, he claimed.

“In their panic, they have made my conditions in jail even tougher. The staff assigned to ensure that my food isn’t poisoned has been changed for the fourth time,” he wrote.

He also described the conditions of his and his wife Bushra’s cell – ‘rats fall from the top when she prays – and said the court has been informed about it.

Khan further said that he had already explained why the Islamabad rally was postponed and how it had nothing to do with “contacts with the establishment.” “This entire government runs on lies; I don’t even read the news about them. I have no contact with the establishment. If we do hold talks with them, it will only be for the sake of the country and the constitution,” the PTI supremo added.

Drawing a parallel to the situation that unfolded in Bangladesh, he also came up with a curt comment: “Cattle can be herded in a desired direction, not humans” and said, “The Army Chief, Chief Justice, and Police Chief were all loyal to the Prime Minister (in Bangladesh), but when the people took to the streets, they won their rights.” “Anyone critical of the regime is labelled a digital terrorist. When internet services were shut down, people protested, but those in power couldn’t handle the criticism. No one is permitted to even voice their problems. The nation blames a specific institution for this,” he added.

“What are his qualifications? Under him, the law-and-order situation across the country is deteriorating,” the PTI leader asked and described terror attack incidents in KP and Balochistan.

The former cricketer-turned-politician rued about “the embarrassing defeat against Bangladesh” on Monday (August 26, 2024) and said it set a new low. He also lamented the current condition of cricket in Pakistan, saying: “The blame for all of this collapse falls on one institution.”

A Pakistani court on October 27 rejected petitions by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking bail and cancellation of the first FIR in the cipher case for allegedly leaking state secrets and violating the laws of the country.
| Photo Credit: AP

A Pakistani court on October 27 rejected petitions by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking bail and cancellation of the first FIR in the cipher case for allegedly leaking state secrets and violating the laws of the country.

Mr. Khan, 71, was arrested in August after a case was filed against him for disclosing a secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country’s embassy in Washington in March last year. A special court in Pakistan on October 23 indicted him along with his close ally ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the case.

Mr. Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, had approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) with the pleas for bail in the case as well as against the FIR which was registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in August.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq after the conclusion of the hearing had reserved judgment on October 16 which he announced on Friday.

The case is about a document sent by Pakistan’s embassy in Washington in March 2022 that Mr. Khan tried to use for political purposes by saying that it was proof of a foreign conspiracy to orchestrate his ouster from power in April last year.

Mr. Khan, who served as Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to April 2022, is accused of “misuse the contents of the cipher” to build a narrative that his government was ousted due to a foreign conspiracy hatched by the U.S., a charge denied by Washington.

Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on September 30 presented the charge sheet against Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi who signed its copies.

On October 26, the Islamabad High Court rejected Mr. Khan’s petition challenging his indictment in the case.

The court was earlier set to indict Mr. Khan on October 17, but it delayed it after Mr. Khan’s lawyers objected that he was not provided with the copies of the chargesheet.

The cipher reportedly went missing from Mr. Khan’s possession. Mr. Khan had repeatedly said before and after the no-confidence motion against him last year that the cipher pointed to a conspiracy to remove him from the Prime Minister’s office.

Mr. Khan was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. He was incarcerated on August 5 this year, after an Islamabad court sentenced him to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case. The PTI chief was lodged in the Attock District Jail to serve his prison term.

Later, his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court, but then he was arrested in the cipher case and remained in the Attock jail on judicial remand. He was later shifted to Adiala jail.

More than 150 cases have been registered against Mr. Khan since his ouster from power in April last year.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on August 29 slammed Supreme Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial for “favouring” Imran Khan, saying his messages to the lower courts led to the suspension of the sentence of the former Premier and called the verdict a “dark chapter” in the country’s history.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on August 29 suspended Mr. Khan’s three-year sentence in the Toshakhana corruption case and ordered his release from jail, in a major relief to the former Pakistan Prime Minister. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief was sentenced on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts acquired by him and his family during his 2018-2022 tenure.

A Division Bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri announced the much-anticipated verdict which was reserved on August 28. Separately, a three-member Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Bandial and comprising Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail is also set to resume hearing petitions against the Toshakhana case.

Taking to microblogging site X, formerly Twitter, Mr. Sharif said that the IHC had been influenced by the Supreme Court’s leniency toward the PTI chief.

Taking an indirect jibe at Mr. Khan, Mr. Sharif said, “The ‘favourite’s’ sentence has been suspended, not terminated.” “Chief Justice’s message of “Good to see you” and “Wishing you good luck” reached Islamabad High Court. If everyone knows what the decision will be before the decision comes, it should be a moment of concern for the justice system,” the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president said, slamming the court for suspending Mr. Khan’s sentence.

The former Premier further said that when a “clear message” was received from the higher judiciary, the subordinate court would follow suit.

On Wednesday, the apex court, after hearing various petitions against the Toshakhana case, observed that there were “shortcomings” in the judgment of the sessions court.

The panel observed that the verdict was given in haste and without giving the right of defence to the accused. “Prima facie, there are shortcomings in the trial court verdict,” the Chief Justice said.

The Supreme Court had also stated it would wait for the IHC hearing before giving its judgment. It resumed the hearing Thursday but adjourned it without fixing any date after it was told that the IHC was holding a hearing.

Asking why lenience was not extended to his brother and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Mr. Shehbaz Sharif said, “A monitoring judge was appointed to ensure Nawaz Sharif’s punishment, [and now] the chief justice himself [has become] a monitoring judge to save the ‘favourite’.” “This role of the justice system will be written as the dark chapter of history. Scales tilted to one side, and a justice system that undermines justice are not acceptable,” he said, adding that the law was powerless before those who “sold the watches”.

According to the details of an official inquiry, Mr. Khan allegedly earned ₹36 million by illegally selling three watches gifted to him by foreign dignitaries to a local watch dealer during his tenure as Prime Minister.

“If thieves and state terrorists are facilitated, where will the common man get justice in the country?” Mr. Sharif asked.

Alleging undue leniency by the country’s courts to Mr. Khan, Mr. Sharif said, “Be it May 9, be it an attack on the judicial complex, be it raining petrol bombs on the police, everything is forgiven.” Pakistan saw massive nationwide anti-government protests following the arrest of Mr. Khan by paramilitary Rangers in a corruption case on May 9. Mr. Khan was later released on bail.

Dozens of military installations and government buildings, including the Corps Commander’s House in Lahore and the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, were damaged or torched during the riots. Over 100 vehicles of police and other security agencies were set on fire.

Following the violent protests, law enforcement agencies arrested over 10,000 PTI workers across Pakistan, 4,000 of them from Punjab Province only.

The Toshakhana case was filed by ruling party lawmakers in 2022 in the ECP, alleging that Mr. Khan concealed the proceeds from the sale of state gifts.

The ECP first disqualified Mr. Khan and then filed a case of criminal proceedings in a sessions court which convicted him, and subsequently, Mr. Khan was sent to jail.

Mr. Khan is currently in Attock Jail following his arrest from his Lahore home.

The case alleges that Mr. Khan had “deliberately concealed” details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana — a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept — during his time as the Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022 and proceeds from their reported sales.

As per Toshakhana rules, gifts/presents and other such materials received by persons to whom these rules apply shall be reported to the Cabinet Division.

According to reports, Mr. Khan received 58 gifts worth more than ₹140 million from world leaders during his three-and-a-half-year stint and retained all of them either by paying a negligible amount or even without any payment.

The Islamabad High Court on August 29 suspended Imran Khan’s three-year sentence in the Toshakhana corruption case and ordered his release from jail, in a major relief to Pakistan’s embattled former Prime Minister ahead of the upcoming general elections.

A Division Bench comprising Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri announced the much-anticipated verdict which was reserved on August 28.

“Decision of District Court [has been] suspended by IHC,” Mr. Khan’s party — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — said in a short WhatsApp message.

The court said that a copy of the judgment will be available shortly.

“The copy of the judgment will be available shortly … all we are saying now is that [Imran’s] request has been approved,” Justice Farooq said.

The Bench also ordered to release the 70-year-old leader on the production of surety bonds worth Pakistani rupees 100,000.

Mr. Khan’s legal counsel Naeem Haider Panjotha posted on X, formerly Twitter: “The CJ has accepted our request, suspended the sentence and said a detailed decision would be provided later.” Mr. Khan’s sentence has been suspended but he was not being released as a special court holding his trial in the Official Secrets Act directed the Attock Jail authorities to keep him in the “judicial lockup” and produce him on August 30 before the court in connection with the cipher case.

Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is already in custody in the same case.

The case launched last week alleged that Khan and others were involved in the violation of the secret laws of the country.

The Bench reserved the verdict on August 28 after the rival lawyers concluded their arguments on the suspension of the conviction and three-year sentence handed down to Mr. Khan by Additional District and Session Judge, Islamabad, Humayun Dilawar on August 5 — a move that barred him from contesting general elections.

The former cricketer-turned-politician was sentenced on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts acquired by him and his family during his 2018-2022 tenure. He was also barred from politics for five years, preventing him from contesting an upcoming election.

General elections are scheduled to be held in Pakistan within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly, which was prematurely dissolved on August 10 by President Arif Alvi. However, the polls are likely be delayed as the government has announced that the elections could take place only after a new census was completed and new constituency boundaries drawn.

The exercise could take about four months to complete and means that polls may be delayed till next year.

The government’s announcement had come on the same day when Mr. Khan was arrested after being sentenced to three years in prison for “corrupt practices”.

Mr. Khan challenged his conviction within days and the IHC began a formal hearing on August 22. It adjourned the case on Friday after the lawyer representing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not appear due to illness.

Mr. Khan’s lawyer Latif Khosa completed his argument on Thursday, asserting that the verdict was given in haste and was full of shortcomings. He urged the court to set aside the sentence but the defence team demanded more time to complete its arguments.

His party welcomed the IHC verdict, with party Information Secretary Raoof Hasan saying that Mr. Khan’s arrest in any other case after the suspension of his sentence in the Toshakhana case would be “ill-intentioned and mala fide”.

We are fortunate to be witnessing the re-scripting of Pakistan’s political and legal history,” he said, adding that “justice shall prevail”.

However, former premier Shehbaz Sharif expressed its displeasure at the court’s order saying that the sentence was suspended and “not terminated”.

“The Chief Justice of Pakistan’s message of ’good to see you’ and ‘wish you good luck’ has reached the IHC,” he said, claiming that “everyone knew about the verdict before it was even announced”.

“This moment is a matter of concern for our justice system,” Mr. Shehbaz Sharif said. “If a clear message is received from the higher judiciary, what else should the subordinate court do?” Separately, a three-member Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail is also set to resume hearing petitions against the Toshakhana case.

On Wednesday, the apex court after hearing various petitions against the Toshakhana case observed that there were “shortcomings” in the judgment of the sessions court.

The panel observed that the verdict was given in haste and without giving the right of defence to the accused. “Prima facie, there are shortcomings in the trial court verdict,” the Chief Justice said.

The apex court had also stated it would wait for the IHC hearing before giving its judgment. It resumed the hearing on Thursday but adjourned it without fixing any date after it was told that the IHC was holding a hearing.

The Toshakhana case was filed by ruling party lawmakers in 2022 in the ECP, alleging that Mr. Khan concealed the proceeds from the sale of state gifts.

The ECP first disqualified Mr. Khan and then filed a case of criminal proceedings in a sessions court which convicted him and subsequently, Khan was sent to jail.

Mr. Khan is currently in Attock Jail following his arrest from his Lahore home.

The case alleges that Mr. Khan had “deliberately concealed” details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana — a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept — during his time as the Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022 and proceeds from their reported sales.

As per Toshakhana rules, gifts/presents and other such materials received by persons to whom these rules apply shall be reported to the Cabinet Division.

According to reports, Mr. Khan received 58 gifts worth more than ₹140 million from world leaders during his three-and-a-half-year stint and retained all of them either by paying a negligible amount or even without any payment.

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.