ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday issued a detailed order on the appeals of former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, seeking acquittal in the £190 million corruption reference, remanding the case back to the accountability court with a directive to decide it.

The accountability court had dismissed the acquittal petitions earlier this year, which was then challenged by Mr Khan’s legal team before the IHC. The high court initially restrained the accountability court from passing a judgem­ent, however, the stay order stood vacated with the detailed order.

The IHC set aside the trial court’s decisions of dismissing the acquittal plea, directed it to revisit the pe­­titions for acquittal under Sec­tion 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) at ‘an appropriate sta­ge’ of the proceedings, emphasising that evidence must be appraised before reaching a conclusion.

The case involves allegations ag­­ainst Mr Khan and his wife, among others, regarding decisions made during his tenure as prime minister. Both sought discharge from the trial, citing im­­munity under the am­­ended Natio­nal Accountability Or­­d­i­n­an­ce, 1999, which exempts cabin­­et de­­ci­sions from prosecution, un­­l­ess personal monetary gain is proved.

Ex-PM says NAB has admitted errors in Toshakhana case trial

The defence counsel argued that no evidence of personal benefit exis­­ts against him and sought to halt the trial under Section 265-K of the CrPC.

Bushra Bibi argued she was not a public officeholder and maintained she had no role in the alle­ged decisions as a private citizen.

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NAB’s prosecution was of the opinion that since the trial was nearing completion, such applications should be decided after evidence was fully presented.

Judge Nasir Javed Rana of the accountability court, meanwhile, adjourned the trial proceedings in the £190m corruption reference till Nov 18.

The court approved Bushra Bibi’s application for exemption from appearance after reviewing her medical grounds.

Salman Akram Raja, defence lawyer, insisted that the IHC had issued an order and urged the trial court to decide the acquittal petitions first. However, NAB prosecutors contested this, pointing out that no formal communication from the IHC, including signatures of the lawyers involved, had been submitted.

“The lawyers presenting arguments in the Islamabad High Court should have communicated the ord­er in writing,” stated the NAB prosecutor. Despite the written assurances from the defence,

NAB urged the court to verify the matter thoroughly.

With the matter unresolved and the formal IHC order awaited, the accountability court adjourned the case until Nov 18.

‘NAB admitted flaws’

Talking to the media persons at Adiala Jail, Imran Khan critici­sed NAB which he said had admitted errors in the Tosha­kha­­na case trial.

“If the trial was flawed, why was I kept in jail for a year? Why was Bu­­shra Bibi imprisoned for nine mon­ths? The NAB chairman and the inv­estigating officer of this case must resign immediately,” he demanded.

He also criticised the state of democracy in the country, claiming it was devoid of fundamental freedoms. “A democracy that does not allow freedom is not dem­ocr­a­­cy. The judiciary has been tur­ned into a government department un­­­der the 26th amendment,” he said.

Nov 24th protest

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Mr Khan urged the nation to join PTI’s mass protest scheduled for Nov 24.

“This is not just about me; it’s about our collective rights. Don’t fear prisons. The people’s fear has ended, and the government will face an­­­­other setback like February 8,” he said.

Any negotiations with the authorities would centre on the demands of the Nov 24 protesters, he said.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024