Hamid Khan, the lawyer of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan, targeted the judiciary, triggering a rebuke from Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail during a Supreme Court hearing on Monday .
The court, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, adjourned the hearing of a petition filed by former PTI president Imran Khan, regarding allegations of fraud related to the 2024 general elections.
The six-member tribunal adjourned the matter sine die to give the petitioner’s legal counsel more time to respond to objections raised by the court registrar.
During the hearing, Hamid Khan criticized the judiciary for failing to take suo motu consideration of election-related issues, calling it “weak”. In response, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail advised the senior lawyer to be careful with his language, saying: “You are a senior lawyer; choose your words carefully.
The court highlighted the procedural complexities with Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar advising the petitioner’s lawyer to prepare for the upcoming hearing. Justice Mandokhail also questioned whether the entire election could be considered tainted by irregularities, highlighting the potential need for separate investigations in each constituency.
Hamid Khan argued that the court had jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, but the bench reminded him of the need to exhaust relevant forums before approaching the apex court.
The court granted time to Hamid Khan to respond to the registrar’s objections.
PTI to challenge Al-Qadir Trust decision
Meanwhile, the PTI is set to challenge the judgment in the ₹190 million Al-Qadir Trust case in the High Court on January 21 (Tuesday), saying the decision is “controversial ” and that party founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were “wrongly” convicted.
PTI central information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram confirmed on Sunday that the party would file an appeal to overturn what he called a “serious miscarriage of justice”.
He hoped that the names of former PTI supremo Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi would be cleared in the first hearing, deploring the judgment as “a blatant travesty of politically motivated justice and trumped-up charges “.
The decision to appeal follows a select committee meeting that examined the legal and political ramifications of the verdict amid ongoing negotiations with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
The committee approved party president Barrister Gohar Khan’s announcement that talks with the PML-N-led coalition would continue till the deadline set for a government response to the PTI’s demands.
