ISLAMABAD: A day after the Election Commission of Pakistan instructed the police chief to produce PTI Chairman Imran Khan before the commission in a contempt case, the former prime minister appeared before the election watchdog for the first time since August last year when the case was initiated.

As he appeared before the four-member ECP bench, the non-bailable arrest warrants against the former premier were suspended. ECP member from Sindh Nisar Durrani put off the indictment till Aug 2 after Shoaib Shaheen, representing Imran Khan, requested adjournment till September.

“We [lawyers] have only one month of vacation, and since you asked for a personal appearance, we have appeared,” Mr Shaheen said, adding that he needed more time to gather facts since he did not have the complete record. He said this was his first appearance before the bench.

During the PTI chief’s appearance before the commission, security around the electoral body’s office had been beefed up, who turned up for the first time in the case initiated in August last year.

Court summons PTI chief in Toshakhana case today to record statement

When a journalist asked Mr Khan after the hearing if he would apologise to the commission, the ex-PM instead of giving a reply posed a counter-question: “Do you think I should apologise? Why should I tender an apology when I did not make any mistake.”

Toshakhana case

Also, a trial court summoned Imran Khan on Wednesday for recording his final statement before concluding the criminal proceeding against him in the Toshakhana case. The trial court judge will record the statement of Mr Khan under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Khawaja Haris Ahmed, the lead counsel of Mr Khan, concluded the cross-examination of witnesses Waqas Malik and Musadiq Anwar.

During the cross-examination, Khawaja Haris asked the witness about the name of the buyer who bought the Toshakhana gifts from the ex-premier. The witness responded that the name of the buyer was not disclosed during the ECP proceedings neither did Mr Khan mention the buyer’s name in the written reply to ECP.

ECP lawyer Amjad Pervaiz objected and said that the defence counsel was trying to confuse the witness.

During cross-examination, the witness testified that in the financial year 2020-2021, Mr Khan received carpets, jewellery, Rolex watches, cufflinks, rings, dinner sets, earrings, bracelets, and other valuable things, as gifts.

Prosecution witness Anwar, while being cross-examined, said that he was not the custodian of the record. He said that he had certified the details of assets filed by Mr Khan before the ECP.

Last-ditch effort

The PTI chairman also made a last-ditch effort to avoid the early completion of his trial by filing multiple petitions before the IHC in connection with ongoing proceedings conducted by the Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar.

The IHC issued notices to the state on the petition of Mr Khan seeking transfer of the same case from the court of Humayun Dilawar.

In the IHC, Chief Justice Aamer Farooq issued notices to the state and the ECP on the petition of Mr Khan seeking transfer of his case and staying the criminal proceeding in the Toshakhana case. Advocate Khawaja Haris argued that the trial court rejected the request for the case record. He said that the record was being used against the accused and that he had every right to peruse this at the trial stage.

CJ Farooq inquired whether the counsel was seeking the entire record or a part of it. Mr Haris replied that he sought the entire record, from the filing of the reference in the ECP till its decision. The court admitted the petitions of Mr Khan and adjourned further hearing.

Cipher inquiry

Mr Khan also appeared before the FIA in connection with an inquiry against him and others on alleged misuse and unauthorised retention of a diplomatic cipher. The joint team is conducting an inquiry following the direction of the federal cabinet against Imran Khan over charges of prejudicing the national security and interest of the state by revealing classified information with authorisation.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2023