Pakistan: Islamabad HC issues stay order on Imran Khan's indictment in Toshakhana case

Imran Khan. File Pic

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday issued a stay order on the indictment of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, ARY News reported.

Imran Khan was indicted in the Toshakhana case on Wednesday, a day after he was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case from Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises, according to ARY News.

Islamabad High Court chief justice Aamer Farooq presided over the hearing. Khan's lawyer, Khawaja Haris, in his arguments before the court, said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not forward a complaint against his client as per law.

He added the complaint cannot be moved forward after the end of the deadline. The IHC CJ asked Khawaja Haris, "What did the session judge hearing the case say on reservations raised by you?"

Also Read: Pak cracks down on Imran supporters, hundreds arrested

The judge said we will see the matter during the recording of the statements in the case, and added that the case is not admissible for hearing.

After hearing arguments from Imran Khan's lawyer, IHC CJ issued a stay order on the indictment and ordered the sessions court to halt the criminal proceedings in the Toshakhana case against Imran Khan, according to ARY News.

Notices were also issued to the respondents in the case.

On Tuesday, Imran was arrested from outside the Islamabad High Court by Pakistan Rangers on a warrant issued by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

The NAB had initiated an investigation against Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and others for the alleged gain of hundreds of canals of land in the name of Al Qadir University Trust, which reportedly caused a loss of 190 million pounds to the national exchequer.

The apex court announced that the former prime minister's arrest was "illegal" and directed authorities to release him "immediately".

Soon after that, the supporters and party workers hailed the court's decision.

PTI supporters were ecstatic over the release of their leader, Imran Khan and celebrated the top court's decision, reported Geo News.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.