Toshakhana case: Court adjourns hearing on Imran's plea challenging jail sentence till Aug 28

The Islamabad High Court on Thursday (August 25) adjourned former Pakistan prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson Imran Khan's plea challenging jail sentence and seeking suspension of the verdict in the Toshakhana case till August 28. The adjournment happened as Amjad Pervaiz, the lawyer of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) fell sick. Khan's lawyer Latif Khosa called out the ECP on their delay tactics.

On Wednesday, Khosa argued before a division bench of the high courtfocusing on three aspects - the release of Imran owing to a short sentence, jurisdictional defects and improper authorisation by the ECP, a report by Dawn said.

However, Pervaiz argued against the suspension of the sentence, asserting that superior courts could suspend the sentence of those condemned prisoners who completed at least six months imprisonment.

The Toshakhana case accuses Khan of buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch, he received as the prime minister, at a discounted price from the state depository called Toshakhana and selling them for profit.

Imran faces charges over state secrets

Khan faces more trouble as Pakistani authorities on Monday opened a criminal investigation against him on charges of leaking state secrets, after naming him and three aides in a fresh case. The matter is related to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington last year, which the PTI chairperson is alleged to have made public.

Khan accused the cable was part of an American conspiracy to push the Pakistani military to oust him in 2022 because he had visited Moscow ahead of Russia's war on Ukraine. Both the US and the Pakistani military have denied this.

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