ISLAMABAD: The district and sessions court, on Monday, summoned two witnesses in the Toshakhana case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for recording their statements.
Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar, while hearing the Toshakhana case against the PTI chairman, adjourned the hearing till today (Tuesday) and summoned two witnesses.
Khan’s counsels Khawaja Haris and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s lawyer Saad Hassan appeared before the court.
At the start of the hearing, the ECP’s lawyer informed the court that the ECP’s lead counsel Amjad Pervez is in Lahore. Two witnesses are present in court, he said and requested the court to record their statements. To this, the judge remarked that the trial of the case is to begin today.
Khawaja Haris told the court that they have filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the verdict of the same court.
The ECP had filed the application and they can start arguments, he said.
Haris requested the court to adjourn the case for another three days. We do not know what decision will come from the IHC, he said, adding that the chief justice of the IHC had been ill since the last week.
The judge further said that today, a request has been made to adjourn the case for the third time. Whether anyone gives arguments or not, he will decide the case, the judge told the ECP’s counsel.
The court had earlier adjourned the hearing of the case twice, he said.
The judge said that the hearing of the case will not be adjourned for the ECP’s counsels. The ECP’s counsel requested the court to grant him half an hour, he wants to ask Amjad Pervez and then will inform the court.
The judge said that Amjad Pervez had made a commitment before the court that he will argue the case today. The PTI Chief’s lawyer, Gohar Ali Khan, told the court to fix a date for the next hearing with the consensus of both parties.
The ECP’s counsel told the court that he will inform the court at 2:00 pm after consultation with the legal team. Submit arguments over the application regarding witnesses, otherwise, will decide the case, the judge said. The court took a break till 2:00 pm.
After the break, the ECP’s counsel, while arguing before the court, said that two officers of the Cabinet Division were included in the witness list in 2022. The secretary of administration and deputy secretary of coordination of the Cabinet Division include in the witness list, he said, adding that Section Officer Cabinet Division Ali Asad, Section Officer Toshakhana Mohsin Ali, and Umair Hussain manager of a private bank in Blue Area also include in the witness list. He will not place any such document before the court which is earlier not produced, the ECP’s lawyer said.
He said that Section Officer Afser Ali had signed Toshakhana documents. The witness Umair Hussan is the manager of a private bank, he said, adding the PTI chairman and his wife Bushra Bibi have joint accounts in the bank. In the same account the amount was deposited, he said, adding that these are the same documents which had earlier been provided to the accused.
The counsel further said that according to the PTI chairman, he had transferred the amount of Toshakhana to the account. The document submitted before the court was provided to the accused before the indictment, he said, adding that he submitted no new documents.
Haris told the court that the complaint filed in connection with Toshakhana case had the names of only two witnesses. According to the complainant, he has forgotten recording the statements of five more witnesses.
The court rejected the ECP’s plea seeking the inclusion of five more witnesses. The court summoned two witnesses of ECP for recording their statements and adjourned the case till today (Tuesday).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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