The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday suspended Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's sentence awarded to him in the Toshakhana case.
The IHC announced the short verdict that it reserved a day earlier wherein it directed the authorities to release the PTI chief on bail.
The court said it would elaborate on the reasons for the suspension of the sentence in the detailed verdict to be issued later.
The court directed the PTI chief to submit a surety bond of Rs100,000 against the bail.
Member of PTI's legal team Barrister Gohar said that the surety bonds worth Rs100,000 against Khan's bail have been prepared as per the court's directives, and will be submitted after acquisition of the court order's copy.
The verdict comes as a major legal victory for Khan who had challenged his conviction and sentence awarded to him in the Toshakhana case.
Earlier this month, a district and sessions court in the federal capital had sentenced Khan to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs100,000, after finding him guilty of corrupt practices related to the state gift repository — in a move that barred him from contesting elections due later this year.
The former prime minister, who has been disqualified from holding any public office due to the conviction, was arrested immediately after the trial court's ruling on August 5 and has since been incarcerated in Attock jail.
Subsequently, Khan petitioned the high court against the Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar decision to convict him in the Toshakhana case filed by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
On Monday, a division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri concluded the proceedings on the plea and reserved the verdict.
Before the conclusion of proceedings, the counsel representing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Amjad Pervaiz presented his arguments opposing the pleas by the PTI chief.
The PTI counsel Sardar Latif Khan Khosa had focused on three aspects — suspension of his client’s short sentence, jurisdictional defect and improper authorisation — to defend the plea.
However, the electoral body's lawyer termed the objections to the maintainability of the ECP’s complaint as baseless during Monday's hearing.
He claimed that the witnesses presented by the defence were not relevant as these were tax consultants, whereas the complainant accused the ex-PM of submitting a false declaration of assets.
He also objected to the request for suspension of Khan’s sentence, saying this is not a matter of right but the discretion of the court which could be exercised judiciously.
‘Victory for Constitution, law and justice’
“Today is the day of victory for the Constitution, law and justice,” Shoaib Shaheen, the PTI chief’s counsel, said while taking to journalists outside the court.
“[…] who will compensate Imran Khan for 25 days of imprisonment,” he asked.
Shaheen criticised trial court Judge Humayun Dilawar, who had handed out the three-year sentence to Khan, terming him “biased” for not allowing the PTI chief to present his witnesses in the court.
“It is a pity that justice was murdered,” Shaheen added.
“Today, the truth has won. The Constitution and law have won,” he said.
