What is the Toosha Khana case, and what options does Imran Khan have after the sentence?
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has been sentenced to three years in prison in the Toosha Khana case by a local court in Islamabad, following which he was arrested by the Punjab Police from his residence in Zaman Park, Lahore.
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| Imran Khan |
The case against Imran Khan is known as the Toosha Khana reference.
Under this reference, the Election Commission declared Imran Khan disqualified in October last year until the current assembly's tenure.
Following that, the Election Commission filed a contempt of court case against Imran Khan in the local court in Islamabad, which has been under hearing for several months.
Now, let's first understand what the Toosha Khana reference is all about.
What is the Toosha Khana case?
The Toosha Khana case against former Prime Minister Imran Khan began when PML-N's Member of the National Assembly, Barrister Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha, filed a reference against him.
The reference was sent by the National Assembly Speaker to the Election Commission.
The reference alleged that Imran Khan bought gifts from the government's Toosha Khana (gift depository), but these items were not declared in the assets he submitted to the Election Commission.
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| Toosha Khana Watch |
According to the documents, the claimant argued that Imran Khan was legally bound to declare all the assets of himself, his spouse, and his dependents at the end of each fiscal year and submit them to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The documents also claimed that Imran Khan 'knowingly concealed' the gifts received from the Toosha Khana, which amounted to 'misdeclaration'.
In this court ruling, Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dillawar wrote that the accused, Imran Khan, had been proven guilty of obtaining benefits from the government's Toosha Khana while hiding the fake details of the items during 2018-2019 and 2019-2020.
It was stated in the verdict, "If he fails to submit the fine, he will be sentenced to an additional six months of imprisonment."
What Imran Khan Said :
Imran Khan warned many times that he might be convicted in the Toshakhana case and said that he is being “continuously denied” the right to a fair trial and not even allowed to present witnesses in his defense.
The superior courts must intervene immediately to stop this miscarriage of justice in what feels like a military-styled mistrial.”
What options does Imran Khan have?
According to Pakistan's law, Imran Khan has the right to appeal to higher courts against the sentence.
According to Shahzad Malik, after receiving the sentence, Imran Khan's first option available is to challenge the verdict in the Islamabad High Court.
Shahzad Malik further said that in case of a stay order from the court, a possible relief for Imran Khan could be that the court can suspend the sentence while hearing the arguments and evidence.
In such a scenario, Imran Khan could be released on bail by the court.
However, if the High Court upholds his sentence, then his last option would be to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.