The court allows 7 days for all objections to be lifted; Salman Safdar accuses Registrar of creating confusion
Islamabad High Court. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court on Thursday withdrew all objections to appeals filed against the convictions in the Toshakhana case of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi. The court also ordered that the appeals be numbered and scheduled for hearing.
Lawyer Salman Safdar said: “You are seeing us in court for the first time; Don’t let us leave empty-handed. » Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro remarked: “Both your requests have been approved; you won’t leave empty-handed. »
On December 20, a special court sentenced Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison each in the Toshakhana-II case, which involves allegations that the couple illegally kept a Bulgari jewelry set gifted by the Saudi crown prince during an official visit to Saudi Arabia.
During the hearing of the appeals against the convictions in the Toshakhana case, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro presided over the case. Lawyers Salman Safdar and Salman Akram Raja appeared, as did Imran Khan’s three sisters.
Advocate Salman Safdar said, “The registrar’s office had raised objections to our appeal. We were not aware of these objections. When we filed the suspension requests, we found that there were objections.
Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro noted that the court was in the process of responding to the remaining objections to the appeals. Lawyer Salman Safdar then questioned the objection regarding the unflagged pages, to which the judge smilingly replied that the lawyer could flag the pages.
The court allowed seven days for all remaining objections to be lifted. Lawyer Salman Safdar said, “We have faced many difficulties before and hope that the process will now become easier. The registrar’s office has created confusion.”
Two miscellaneous requests from Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were granted, including one to remove objections on the main appeal and another to extend the time for removing objections. Justice Soomro assured that the applications had been approved and the parties would not leave empty-handed.
