ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions judge rejected the Election Commission of Pakistan’s request for an early hearing of the Thoshakhana case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal announced the verdict, which had been reserved earlier, after hearing arguments from the ECP’s counsel. The hearing for the Thoshakhana case has now been scheduled for April 29. After disqualifying Imran Khan in the Thoshakhana case, the ECP had filed a reference against him in the local court.
A five-member bench of the Lahore High Court, led by Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, will hear the case tomorrow, April 12.
Last week, a local lawyer filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking the removal of Imran Khan as PTI chairman. Justice Mazhar Akhtar of the LHC referred the case to another judge for further hearing.
The petitioner, Muhammad Junaid, had submitted a request to form a new team, including Imran Khan and the Chief Election Commissioner, stating that the Election Commission had declared Imran Khan ineligible from NA-95 and taken legal action against him for concealing facts about Tooba Khanum’s property on December 7, 2022.
The petitioner argued that, like Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan should not be allowed to remain in office after being disqualified. They claimed that they had approached the Election Commission but received no response, and thus asked the court to order the removal of Imran Khan from his position as party chairman.
