A miscellaneous application has been filed before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking the adjournment of the hearing on the main appeal filed by the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against his conviction in the 190 million pounds case, with the hearing scheduled for Thursday.
The application was filed a day before the scheduled hearing before a two-member division bench headed by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, which is set to hear the appeals of the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi against their sentences.
The PTI founder’s counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, filed the adjournment plea, stating that he has received no instructions to pursue the appeals. He requested the court to direct jail authorities to arrange a meeting with the PTI founder to obtain instructions and to have the power of attorney signed.
“The jail authorities are not allowing a meeting to seek instructions from the PTI founder,” the petition stated. It prayed the court to order the jail authorities to arrange a meeting for obtaining instructions and to postpone the hearing of the main appeals scheduled for Thursday.
Separately, the District and Sessions Court of Islamabad on Wednesday sine die adjourned two cases linked to the 2014 sit-in after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) founder and co-accused, along with their lawyers, did not appear in court on multiple occasions.
Civil Judge Shaista Kundi presided over the cases. The court reviewed two cases registered against the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other accused in connection with the 2014 protest.
During the proceedings, the court noted the continued absence of the PTI founder, other accused persons, and their legal representatives. Due to their non-appearance, the court ordered both cases to be filed and removed from active hearing.
The cases were registered under charges of violating Section 144, which restricts public gatherings. The FIRs were lodged at the Secretariat Police Station in Islamabad.
The court’s decision came after several hearings where the accused and their lawyers did not attend proceedings. With this order, the court has ended proceedings in both cases for the time being.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday once again summoned the Superintendent of Adiala Jail to appear personally before the court in a case regarding Bushra Bibi’s medical condition and family meetings, warning that failure to appear would result in issuance of his arrest warrants.