Imran Khan challenges a finding in the corruption case as a "travesty of justice."
Shortly after an Islamabad trial court declared the former Pakistani prime minister guilty of "corrupt practises" in the Toshakhana case, he was detained on Saturday.
Imran Khan, an imprisoned former premier of Pakistan, today appealed his conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case by a trial court, claiming the decision by a "biassed" judge was "a gross travesty of truth" and a "slap in the face to due process and a fair trial."
After being convicted guilty of "corrupt practises" in the Toshakhana case and receiving a three-year prison term, Mr. Khan, 70, was detained on Saturday. Currently, he is being held at the Attock jail.
Through the submission of a plea to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) by his attorneys Khawaja Haris and Gohar Ali Khan, Mr Khan has challenged both his conviction and the three-year prison term in the case.
He said that because the petitioner's attorney was denied the opportunity to submit arguments, the trial judge reached his decisions based on a "predisposed mind" rather than the merits of the case.
In Mr. Khan's appeal, it was claimed that the judge's judgement was "tainted with bias, is a the invalidity in the eye of the law, and is liable to be set aside."
It claimed that the order was made without giving the petitioner a chance to present his defence and that Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar had refused to hear Mr. Haris, Imran's attorney in the Toshakhana case, on the grounds that he was late – which, according to the petition, was because he was filing additional uses before the Supreme Court along with Islamabad High Court.
Accordingly, the petition claimed that the trial court's decision was "a gross travesty of justice" and a "slap in the face of proper procedures and a fair trial".
The trial judge, who through the entire proceedings had been exhibiting his profound prejudice towards the appellant and his lawyer, and constantly using disparaging remarks against both of them, even in their absence, was bent on carrying out a well-orchestrated well-organized process, and the impugned judgement was announced despite the fact that before starting counsel for the appellant was very much in court completely prepared to address arguments.
A 35-page verdict was published within 30 minutes of the decision being announced by a brief order because the petition claimed that the judgement that was presented at the conclusion of the hearing had already been drafted and written.
The petition identified Islamabad's district election commissioner as
Pak Tehreek-e-InsafA group of foreign media journalists were informed by Insaf that the court had accepted the petition and scheduled a hearing for Wednesday.
Separately, the IHC allowed Mr. Khan's attorneys to see him in custody as the court heard a petition asking for A-Class facilities for the former premier.
Later, the court requested the names of two solicitors who should visit Mr Khan in prison from Mr Khan's side.
In the case brought by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last year, Mr. Khan was found guilty despite having been disqualified for failing to provide the proceeds from the sale of the presents he had acquired from Toshakhana at a reduced cost.
According to the Toshakhana case, Mr. Khan "deliberately concealed" information about the gifts he kept from the Toshakhana during his tenure as prime minister, a place where gifts given to government officials by foreign officials are stored, as well as the money from their reported sales.
Mr. Khan has been detained twice in the last three months.
When he was taken into custody on May 9 in Islamabad on the grounds of the high court in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, his followers violently protested.
More than 140 cases against Mr. Khan are pending around the nation on allegations of terrorism, violence, blasphemy, corruption, and murder.
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