In relief for Imran Khan, Pakistan court declares Toshakhana case ‘inadmissible’: Report

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday declared the Toshakhana case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan inadmissible. Khan, 70, was indicted in the Toshakhana case on May 10 by Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar, who rejected objections about the admissibility of the case.

The PTI chief then approached the IHC, which had stayed criminal proceedings on the case till June 8.

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Following the resumption of the hearing in June, Justice Aamer on June 23 reserved his verdict on the petition, saying that he would look into the matter after Eid ul-Adha.

On Tuesday, Chief Justice Amir Farooq declared the Toshakhana case against Khan inadmissible, ARY News reported.

The Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign dignitaries.

The Toshakhana issue over the sale of state gifts received by the cricketer-turned-politician became a major issue in national politics after the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified the former premier for making “false statements and incorrect declaration”.

Khan was accused of misusing his 2018 to 2022 premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than Rs140 million (USD 635,000).

In his petition, the PTI chair objected to filing a complaint after a specified period. His lawyer, Khawaja Haris, maintained that a complaint could only be filed within four months of submitting the return.

However, a day earlier, the PTI chief submitted a petition to the court, seeking Justice Aamer's recusal from the case.

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In the petition, the former prime minister — who was removed from power via a no-confidence motion in April last year — sought the transfer of the two Toshakhana cases to another bench in the interest of a “fair and impartial” trial.

The petition has also named the district election commission as the respondent.

Meanwhile, the PTI chief's lawyer, Gohar Khan, has termed the verdict a "victory".

"An appeal was filed against the decision of the session judge in the Toshakhana case," he said, adding that the wrong person filed the complaint.

"We were trying in courts for a year. Today, PTI has won," he said.

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