Case of Toshakhana: Imran Khan’s election hopes are shattered. On Thursday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) upheld the trial court’s decision to suspend the Toshakhana verdict in full, thereby putting an end to Imran Khan’s hopes to run for the country’s general elections. The ruling ended the PTI founder’s chances of running in the forthcoming elections.
After he had been removed as prime minister by a parliamentary vote in April of last year, the former premier had applied to the International Humanitarian Court for the rectification of its August 28 order, by making an application for suspension of the judgment passed by the trial court on August 5.
The Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar sentenced Khan to three years in prison and a fine of Rs100,000 on September 5, 2023, after he found Khan guilty in an investigation into the Toshakhana case regarding graft and corruption.
His misdeeds have resulted in a conviction after he was found guilty of abusing his position as prime minister to sell state gifts that he had received from foreign dignitaries during his visits abroad, worth more than Rs140 million ($490,000).
Following the former prime minister’s conviction in the case, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has disqualified him from running for public office for five years. Electoral watchdog ECCI stated in its notification that the PTI chief had been disqualified from participating in the election after he was convicted under Section 167 of the Elections Act, 2017, and sentenced to three years in prison for corrupt practices.
Therefore, I hereby inform you that Mr Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi has been disqualified from participating in the election as a result of the provisions of Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan read with Section 232 of the Elections Act,2017.”
As a result of the IHC’s decision on August 28, the PTI supremo’s sentence sanctioned to him in the Toshakhana case was suspended, but his conviction and disqualification continue to stand until the court renders its decision on the main appeal.
During the hearing of the case, the PTI chief moved the IHC seeking an immediate suspension of the verdict of the trial court.
A two-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri delivered an illuminating verdict on a nine-page detailed judgment in which it was stated that no specific plea was raised and that a subsequent application was filed in order to conceal the omission. The earlier application for suspension of the sentence did not mention any exceptional or extraordinary circumstances, despite the fact that they were mentioned in the notification dated 08.08.2023 when the application was made for suspension of the sentence.”
In this case,
There has been a great deal of talk about how Toshakhana has been under the spotlight since the allegations surfaced that Khan had purchased the gifts he received as prime minister at throwaway prices and sold them off for staggering profits on the open market after receiving them as the prime minister.
It has been alleged that the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician used his position of premiership from 2018 to 2022 to buy and sell gifts acquired during foreign travel that have a value of more than R140 million ($635,000) that were received during his visits abroad.
Among the gifts was a watch from a royal family, which government officials said were sold in Dubai by Khan’s aides, according to the official who had previously claimed that Khan’s aides had given the watches to him.
It is also worth mentioning that among the gifts that were given were seven wristwatches, six of which were manufactured by Rolex watchmaker, and the most expensive one was the “Master Graff Limited Edition,” valued at 85 million Pakistani rupees ($385,000).
As a result of a reference sent by the National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf to the Election Commission, the election commission has been asked to examine the matter further.
As a result of the alleged corruption practices perpetrated by the former premier, the electoral body declared him guilty in October 2022.
That news provided by timenews.
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