The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday issued a notice to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the Toshakhana reference against the former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan, it was reported.
During the hearing of an appeal filed by the former prime minister in the reference, Latif Khosa, Imran’s counsel, told the court that a two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended the sentence awarded to his client in the case.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Hashim Kakar, heard the appeal.
“Although the sentence had been suspended, the court order was not implemented,” Khosa said, and added that the PTI founder was not allowed to contest the February 8, 2024 general elections despite the fact that the sentence had been suspended.
“This was because the court had not decided the case as yet,” Imran’s lawyer elaborated.
The judge noted that if the sentence had been suspended, the former prime minister should have been allowed to contest the election.
He asked Khosa whether the man would remain in jail after the suspension of the sentence or he would be set free.
The lawyer replied that the man would be released from jail.
Justice Kakar asked Khosa whether his client’s appeal had been decided. The latter replied in negative.
The SC, however, rejected Khosa’s request for a meeting with Imran.
“Khosa sab, pleas discuss political matters in the parliament,” Justice Kakar said, adding, “We have now even been robbed of the power of taking suo motu notice.”
“How can we allow a meeting in a criminal case?”
Later, the court adjourned the case’s hearing for an indefinite time period.
