ISLAMABAD: PTI founder Imran Khan, along with his wife Bushra Bibi, decided to file a petition in the Islamabad High Court seeking the suspension of their penalty in the £190 million corruption case.
According to party sources, PTI’s legal team prepared the petition for the suspension of the sentence.
The petition argues that the NAB acted with malice and abused its authority, delivering a hasty verdict based on incomplete investigations. It further highlights NAB’s failure to obtain the text of the agreement with the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), which reflects the investigative body’s reluctance. Additionally, NCA officials were not included in the investigation.
The petition asserts that the prosecution failed to present substantial evidence. The petitioners assure the court of their full cooperation and pledge to attend all appeal hearings if the sentence is suspended. The petition requested the suspension of the sentence handed down on January 17 and sought the release of the petitioners on bail until the final decision on the main appeal.
Earlier, The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed that all cases related to meetings with PTI founder Imran Khan be consolidated and heard by a larger bench.
Acting Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar heard the petition filed by Adiala Jail Superintendent Abdul Ghafoor Anjum, requesting the clubbing of all such cases.
During the hearing, advocate Naveed Malik, representing the jail superintendent, argued that the SOPs for meetings with Imran Khan had already been settled in an intra-court appeal. However, multiple benches were hearing different petitions regarding these meetings. He further stated that the jail superintendent is responsible for thousands of inmates and has to appear before the IHC five days a week. Assigning all related cases to a single bench would streamline the process.
Following these arguments, the court approved the request and ordered the formation of a larger bench to hear the cases collectively.
Earlier, The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued directives for the constitution of a larger bench and merging various pleas pertaining to meeting rights of PTI founder Imran Khan who’s incarcerated in Adiala jail.
The development came as IHC’s Acting Chief Justice Justice Sarfraz Dogar heard a petition filed by Adiala jail Superintendent Abdul Ghafoor Anjum who complained of multiple pending pleas concerning Khan’s visitation rights and conflicting judgements by the courts on the said issue. –Agencies
