IHC suspends Imran Khan & Bushra sentences in Toshakhana case

Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspends the sentences of Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana case. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq stated the court would hear the main appeals after the Eid holidays.

During the hearing, Aamer Farooq stated that the cipher case would be completed within a few days. Therefore, they cannot schedule the Toshakhana case for a hearing the very next day after holding a hearing today.

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Geo News English (@geonewsdottv)

Justice Aamer stated they had to hear the cipher case the next day following the schedule. He said arguments from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had to begin in the cipher case. He did not know how long it would take. As a result, he postponed Toshakhana’s case until after Eid (expected on April 10, 2024).

PTI has filed petitions against the convictions of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to the Islamabad High Court. However, Imran Khan informed the court that his wife had nothing to do with the case but powerful people were humiliating her by forcibly involving her in this case.

It came when accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir convicted Imran Khan and his wife and sentenced them to 14 years imprisonment on January 31, 2024.

They had convictions for misusing the state’s gift registry during the tenure of Imran Khan as prime minister. The court gave Imran Khan and his wife 14 years of life imprisonment.

Click here to read updates on Imran Khan sentenced to 7 years in jail in the Nikah case with Bushra Bibi

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 787 million each on the accused. Following this decision, the IHC suspends the sentences of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi.

However, political analysts considered this case verdict the most quickly-ended trial in the accountability court’s history. In a reference filed in December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) accused Imran Khan and his wife of keeping valuable presents obtained during Imran’s tenure as the country’s prime minister violating the rules.

Interestingly, another trial court disqualified Imran Khan and sentenced him to three years imprisonment on August 5, 2023. He faced this conviction for failing to disclose the gifts he received as prime minister in his accounts of assets and liabilities submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan.