Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday sought the recusal of Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq from a bench hearing pleas challenging his trial in the Toshakhana scandal to ensure “impartial” proceedings and a “fair” trial.
In his plea, the former prime minister has claimed he does not expect justice from the IHC chief justice, alleging further that “on several occasions” Justice Farooq has issued “illegal” rulings against him due to “person or other reasons.” As the petitioner did not expect “impartial” justice from Justice Farooq, reads the plea, he has requested him to not hear any cases against him.
Claiming he had raised several “important legal and constitutional questions” in the Toshakhana case, the petition added: “The issues are unprecedented and their implications far reaching, the bench to decide these issues must, therefore not only be unbiased and impartial in fact, but must also be seen to be unbiased and impartial.”
The PTI chief was indicted in the Toshakhana case on May 10 after months of avoiding hearings. A day earlier, he had been arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case from the premises of the IHC, which was subsequently declared illegal by the Supreme Court. He has refused to accept the charges against him. In recent weeks, the PTI has repeatedly tried to portray Justice Farooq as ‘biased’ against it, pointing to the formation of a new bench for the Tyrian White case, as well as the IHC CJ validating Khan’s arrest from court premises before it was set aside by the apex court.
The Tosakhana case, whose proceedings are currently stayed by the IHC, alleges that the PTI chief failed to disclose details of the gifts he had retained from the government department during his time as prime minister. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), in its ruling, had directed for criminal proceedings to be initiated against him for filing a false statement. Khan, however, maintains he had disclosed all relevant assets and did not fail to disclose anything.