Hamid Khan, the lawyer for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan, targeted the judiciary, triggering a rebuke from Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail during a Supreme Court hearing on Monday.
The court, presided over by Justice Aminuddin Khan, adjourned the hearing of a petition filed by former PTI chairman Imran Khan on allegations of fraud related to the 2024 general elections.
The six-member bench adjourned the matter indefinitely to give the petitioner’s legal counsel more time to consider objections raised by the court’s registrar.
During the hearing, Hamid Khan criticized the judiciary for not taking suo motu notice on election-related matters, calling it “weak”. In response, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail advised the senior lawyer to watch his language, saying, “You are a senior lawyer; choose your words carefully.”
The bench highlighted procedural complexities, with Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar advising the petitioner’s counsel to prepare for the next hearing. Justice Mandokhail also questioned whether the entire election could be considered flawed, noting the potential need for separate investigations in each constituency.
Hamid Khan argued that the court had jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, but the court reminded him of the need to exhaust relevant forums before approaching the Supreme Court.
The court gave Hamid Khan time to consider the registrar’s objections.
PTI will challenge Al-Qadir Trust’s decision
Meanwhile, the PTI is set to challenge the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case verdict in the High Court on January 21 (Tuesday), saying the decision is “controversial” and party founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were ” wrongfully” convicted.
PTI’s Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram confirmed on Sunday that the party would file an appeal to overturn what it termed a “cruel miscarriage of justice”.
Hoping that the names of former PTI supremo Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi would be cleared in the first hearing, he lamented the verdict as “a blatant travesty of justice driven by political motives and trumped-up charges”.
The decision to appeal followed a core committee meeting that reviewed the legal and political implications of the verdict amid ongoing negotiations with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
The committee endorsed party chairman Barrister Gohar Khan’s announcement that talks with the PML-N-led coalition would continue until the deadline for a government response to PTI’s demands.
