ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court rejects meeting request with Imran Khan during a hearing of multiple cases, including the Toshakhana matter, on Wednesday. The court also issued a notice to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the same proceedings.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Hashim Khan Kakar, and including Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, heard petitions related to PTI founder Imran Khan. These included bail cancellation pleas in the cipher case, Toshakhana case, and a defamation case.
During the hearing, Imran Khan’s lawyer Latif Khosa requested the court to arrange a meeting with his client. However, the bench refused the request. Justice Kakar said the court could not order such a meeting in a criminal matter and added that political issues should be addressed in parliament, not in court.
Justice Panhwar also questioned how the court could pass directions in a matter that was not formally scheduled before the bench.
The discussion then focused on the Toshakhana-I case. Khosa argued that although the Islamabad High Court had suspended Imran Khan’s three-year sentence, the judgment itself remained active. He said this distinction prevented his client from contesting elections.
Justice Kakar responded that when a sentence is suspended in an appeal, restrictions linked to that sentence should not continue. He advised the lawyer to review the high court order carefully.
Khosa later referred to a 2019 Supreme Court ruling to support his argument. However, when the bench asked him to read a specific paragraph, it showed that in that case both the sentence and conviction were suspended together, which differed from Imran Khan’s situation.
The hearing highlighted key legal questions around sentence suspension and its impact on political eligibility. The court has issued notice to the ECP and further proceedings are expected in the case.
