ISLAMABAD – In a sigh of relief for the former Pakistani prime minister and his wife, the Islamabad High Court on Monday suspended sentences handed out to PTI founder and Bushra Begum in the Toshakhana case.
Chief Justice Aamer Farooq cancelled the sentence of the former premier and first lady. Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced in the case by an accountability court days before general elections. A day later, the two were sentenced to seven years in illegal marriage case.
A 2-members bench consisting IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Aurangzeb takes up the hearing on appeals of PTI founder and his wife against their conviction and sentencing.
The court made its decision after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) lawyer said anti-graft watchdog had no objections to suspend sentence. NAB Prosecutor Amjad Pervaiz said that upon reviewing the case, he believed that the sentence should be suspended.
He requested the court to suspend the sentence, noting that the appeals could not be heard at this stage.
Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb commended NAB’s stance while IHC Chief Justice Justice Aamer Farooq explained that the court was currently focused on hearing appeals in the US cipher case and did not have time to hear arguments in the Toshakhana reference.
Barrister Ali Zafar, who represented Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, argued that Toshakhana reference was a separate case and requested the bench to hear initial arguments. Justice Farooq explained that only one or two appeals in the cipher case were left, and they would hear appeals in the Toshakhana case later.
Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi was sentenced to 14 years in jail in the Toshakhana reference just days before the general elections. A lower court indicted them earlier in January, alleging that they had received 108 gifts from various heads of state and foreign dignitaries during Khan’s time in office.
The former PM was also barred from holding any public office for 10 years and fined Rs787 million each according to the trial court’s verdict, which came eight days before the February 8 general elections.
