ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council on Thursday took exception to the Supreme Court’s “premature” involvement in the Toshakhana case at a time when the case was already pending in the Islamabad High Court.

PBC Vice Chairman Haroonur Rashid and Chairman of Executive Committee Hasan Raza Pasha expressed their surprise over the Toshakhana proceedings in a media interaction, wondering whether the entire criminal justice system had changed.

The apex council has already opined that the three-year conviction handed down to Imran Khan by the additional sessions court was fraught with discrepancies the benefit of which will ultimately go to the petitioner, Imran Khan.

But the observations made by the members of the bench during Wednesday’s proceedings had not only prejudiced the lower courts but also painted an impression as if the high court judges were worthless, they rued.

When ultimately the appeal against the conviction had to land in the apex court, there was no need to take up the matter at this “premature stage”, yet the Supreme Court dubbed the sessions court conviction as having apparent procedural defects.

“We don’t want that the courts should be labelled like it was named in the past when it was bracketed as Sharif courts,” they alleged, adding that it seemed that the apex court was “inclined towards a particular party”. The rights being enforced for the benefit of a particular accused should also be provided to all the convicts undergoing jail terms, they demanded.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2023