Pakistan top court to hear multiple appeals involving jailed ex-PM Khan on Feb 18

Pakistan’s Supreme Court is set to hear six legal cases involving former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan, who has been held in custody since August 5, 2023.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar and including Justices Salahuddin Panhwar and Ishtiaq Ibrahim, will preside over the hearings scheduled for February 18.

The cases include a Punjab government appeal challenging Khan’s bail, alongside a separate appeal against bail granted to his wife, Bushra Bibi. The court will also review an Islamabad High Court ruling in the Toshakhana criminal case, in which Khan’s sentence was suspended but his conviction upheld.

Another prominent case on the docket is the government’s appeal against the acquittal of Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the high-profile cipher case. Additionally, the Supreme Court will examine government appeals against Khan’s bail in cases linked to the May 9, 2023, Lahore unrest, as well as his appeals in a defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Chief Justice Yahya Afridi ordered the formation of the three-judge bench on February 9 to expedite hearings for the cluster of cases.

Khan, who led Pakistan from 2018 until his removal via a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022, has faced numerous legal challenges since leaving office. His party maintains that the cases are politically motivated, a claim that the government rejects.