Pakistan: Bushra Bibi challenges Toshakhana sentence at Islamabad High Court
Feb 18, 2024
Islamabad [Pakistan], February 18 : Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi has challenged her conviction in the Toshakhana case before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), as reported by Dawn.
This come as Imran Khan on Saturday also moved the court against his convictions in the Toshakhana and cypher cases.
An Accountability Court (AC) in Pakistan last month, sentenced Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 years in jail in the Toshakhana case. Additionally, a fine of Rs 1.54 billion was also imposed.
Bushra Bibi, in her appeal, contended that the "power corridors" were behind her conviction, according to Dawn.
She further said that the conviction was based on the "false statement" of Syed Inamullah Shah, a former comptroller in the Prime Minister's Office.
Imran Khan had instructed his military secretary to deposit the graft jewellery set in Toshakhana, however, the prosecution alleged that the set was not deposited, Bibi said.
She further requested the court to set aside the conviction and suspend her sentence till a decision on her appeal is made, Dawn reported.
Meanwhile, Khan in his appeal pleaded that the trial was conducted in violation of the fundamental right to a fair trial even though the convicts and their counsels extended full cooperation to the court.
However, Judge Bashir "suddenly and illegally" ended the couple's right to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses on Jan 29.
Additionally, Imran Khan's lead counsel, Sardar Latif Khosa, was contesting the election and had sought general adjournment from the Supreme Court and high courts. But the trial court refused his request for an adjournment.
Later when Khosa's substitute Zaheer Abbas, took over, he was also not allowed reasonable time to prepare arguments since the court was "under some undue pressure" to decide the case before Feb 8, Khan claimed in his appeal.
