Imran Khan’s conviction in the Toshakhana case is suspended by the Islamabad HC

A big relief for the former imprisoned Pakistani prime minister came on Tuesday when the Islamabad High Court suspended Imran Khan’s conviction and three-year term in the Toshakhana corruption case and ordered his release.

The much awaited decision, which was reserved on Monday, was pronounced by a division bench made up of Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

In a brief WhatsApp message, Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that the IHC had postponed the District Court’s decision.

The verdict copy will be made available soon. Justice Farooq said, “At this point, all we are saying is that [Imran’s] plea has been granted.

On X, previously Twitter, Khan’s legal affairs assistant Naeem Haider Panjotha wrote: “The CJ has accepted our request, suspended the sentence and said a detailed decision would be provided later.”

Following the conclusion of the opposing attorneys’ arguments for the suspension of the three-year sentence imposed by Judge Humayun Dilawar on August 5, the judges deferred their decision.

On August 5, a trial court in Islamabad found the 70-year-old PTI chairman guilty and handed him a three-year jail term.

The former cricketer-turned-politician received a sentence for illegally selling state items that he and his family had received during the 2018–2022-term. He is unable to run in a next election since he has been banned from politics for five years.

Khan appealed his conviction within a few days, and on August 22, the IHC opened a formal hearing. After the attorney for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) failed to show up owing to sickness on Friday, the hearing was postponed.

On Thursday, Khan’s attorney Latif Khosa concluded his argument, claiming that the decision was rushed and rife with errors.

He also requested that the sentence be reversed, but the defense team insisted on additional time to finish its case.

Separately, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, including Justices Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Jamal Khan Mandokhail and chaired by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, is scheduled to continue hearing petitions related to the Toshakhana case.

The Supreme Court had earlier found “shortcomings” in the ruling of the Sessions Court on Wednesday after hearing many petitions related to the Toshakhana issue.

The panel noted that the judgement was delivered in a hurry and without providing the accused with a right of defense. The chief justice said, “Prima facie, the trial court verdict contains errors.”

Additionally, the top court had said it would reserve decision until after the IHC hearing. After learning that the IHC was conducting a hearing, it resumed the hearing on Thursday but adjourned it without setting a new date.

Lawmakers from the governing party filed the Toshakhana case before the ECP in 2022, saying that Khan had hidden the money from the sale of state gifts.

Khan was initially disqualified by the ECP before a criminal case was brought against him in a sessions court, which resulted in his conviction and subsequent imprisonment.

Following his arrest from his Lahore house, Khan is presently being held in Attock Jail.

The claim in the complaint is that Khan “deliberately concealed” information about gifts he kept from the Toshakhana, a place where gifts given to government officials by foreign diplomats are stored, when he served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

Gifts/presents and other similar items received by individuals to whom these rules apply must be reported to the Cabinet Division in accordance with Toshakhana regulations.

During his three and a half-year tenure, Khan reportedly got 58 presents from international leaders totaling more than Rs 140 million and kept all of them, either by paying a little sum or maybe none at all.