Daily Times

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday extended its stay order till June 20, against the proceeding of the trial court in toshakhana criminal case against PTI’s Chief Imran Khan.

Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the case filed by PTI’s chairman Imran Khan against his indictment by the trial court in criminal case lodged by the district election commissioner. At the outset of hearing, Imran Khan’s lawyer Khawaja Haris prayed the court to adjourn hearing of this case for as he had to appear in another case before Supreme Court. He requested the court to adjourn the case till next Tuesday as there was a bail case in accountability court on Monday. He said that he was even ready to give arguments even after court timing.

The chief justice remarked that this was not as the court would hear this case till 12:00am night. He said that the court was fixing this case for the next week for further hearing, adding that it would try to conclude the case before the holidays of Eid. ECP’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz said that he would not oppose the request for adjournment of the case but he would pray the bench to withdraw its stay order against proceeding of the trial court and grant it permission to record evidence.

However, the bench could stop the lower court from issuance of the final judgment. The chief justice remarked that the court could withdraw its stay if it realized at any stage that the case was being delayed.

Addressing the defence lawyer, the chief justice said that the trial had been running on daily basis in the trial courts. Whether it was a violation of rules, he questioned. Khawaja Harris said that there was no permission to delay the trial once the proceeding in the criminal case was started. The chief justice said that they were working on case management rules for courts in federal capital. He said that completion of a trial within six to seven months was also considered a delay in Britain but in Pakistan criminal cases used to run for long. The court adjourned further hearing of the case till June 20.