SC returns Imran Khan's plea seeking suspension of sentence in Toshakhana case

The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on Saturday returned the ousted prime minister Imran Khan's plea against conviction in the Toshakhana case with objections, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel.  

According to the sources, the SC office returned the application with the objections that papers annexed with the appeal were incomplete. The court directed that the appeal could be submitted in the court with relevant documents by January 06.

The PTI founder filed an appeal in the apex court seeking suspension of the sentence in the Toshakhana case.

The petitioner urged the court to declare the Islamabad High Court’s decision as void, arguing that the sentence in the Toshakhana case had already been suspended.

The petition further highlighted the electoral implications, stating that the former PTI chairman, who is also a former prime minister, should not be kept out of the elections.

The petitioner requested the Supreme Court to suspend the Toshakhana sentence so that he could participate in the upcoming elections.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court had previously dismissed a petition by the PTI founder, seeking the suspension of the trial court’s verdict in the Toshakhana case.

The trial court had sentenced the former prime minister to three years in prison on August 5 in the Toshakhana case, and the ECP subsequently disqualified him for five years under the Elections Act, 2017. The IHC suspended Imran Khan’s sentence but maintained his conviction and disqualification on August 28.

Despite the founder’s appeal for the suspension of the Toshakhana case decision, the IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mahmoud Jahangiri rejected the petition.

 The ruling stressed the legal limitations on revising or amending a suspended punishment order.

Reporter: Farzana Siddique