ISLAMABAD: Additional District and Sessions (ADSJ) Judge Zafar Iqbal on Thursday offered to stop the Islamabad police from arresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case if the former premier surrenders in the court.
The judge made the remarks while hearing the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) reference seeking criminal proceedings against the former premier for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts.
Today’s Hearing
During today’s hearing, Imran’s counsel Khawaja Haris said that the government was carrying out a political vendetta by the arrests.
ADSJ Iqbal said that he would stop the ICT police from arresting Imran if he surrendered in court. “Legally, Imran should have been directly brought to court… it would not have been possible to harass him during the court appearance.”
The judge also remarked that Pakistan was a poor country and there was no need to spend millions of rupees on the warrants. “If a date is mentioned on the warrant, it does not mean that action should be taken that day only … it means that the person be arrested and presented before the court whenever possible.
He added that the police cannot sit outside doing nothing.
ADSJ Iqbal further asked that why did Imran resist the warrants that were legally issued. “This is the money of the public. You could have held a peaceful protest.”
He further said that in criminal proceedings, arrest warrants were usually issued and then cancelled after the suspect appears in court.
At one point, Imran’s lawyers presented his undertaking in court and pleaded that the non-bailable arrest warrants for him be forthwith cancelled.
However, the judge issued notices to the secretariat police and ECP and summoned them to court.
The arrest warrants fiasco
The sessions court was set to indict Imran in the reference on February 28, but his lawyer requested the court to exempt him from the hearing because he had to also appear in several other courts. His indictment was deferred multiple times before.
ADSJ Iqbal had subsequently issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the PTI chief and instructed the police to present him in court by March 7. Imran Khan managed to dodge the arrest and later moved to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking the cancellation of the warrants.
The IHC, while granting some relief to the PTI chief, instructed him to appear in the sessions court by March 13, but the ex-premier once again skipped the hearing. Subsequently, ADSJ Iqbal had on Monday re-issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Imran and directed the police to present him in the court by March 18.
However, when the ICT police reached Imran’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore to arrest him on Tuesday, they were met with resistance from PTI supporters, leading to two-day pitched battles between PTI workers and law enforcement agencies. The atmosphere ultimately calmed down after the courts intervened on Wednesday.
Later on the same day, the PTI also challenged the latest arrest warrants issued for Imran in the IHC which rejected the plea and directed the former PM to submit an undertaking to the trial court which states that he would attend the hearing on March 18.
On Thursday morning, the sessions court resumed hearing the Toshakhan reference with Imran’s lawyers Khawaja Haris Ahmed and Babar Awan present on his behalf.
Toshakhana reference against the PTI chief
The reference, filed last year by lawmakers from the ruling coalition, alleges that Imran Khan had not shared details of the presents he retained from the Toshaskhana (during his time as the PM) and proceeds from their reported sales. On October 21, the ECP had concluded that Imran had indeed made “false statements and incorrect declarations” regarding the gifts.
The watchdog, in its verdict, disqualified the PTI chief under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution.
Subsequently, the ECP approached the Islamabad sessions court with a copy of the reference, seeking criminal proceedings against the deposed PM under criminal law for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts received by him during his tenure as the prime minister.
