Pak court rejects Imran Khan's plea to withdraw appeal in Toshakhana case

A Pakistani high court on Wednesday rejected jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's plea seeking the withdrawal of his appeal against his disqualification in the Toshakhana corruption case.

Khan, 71, has been in jail since August 5, when he was arrested after a conviction in the Toshakhana case. He was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the case for failing to disclose the proceeds from the sale of gifts he got from the Toshakhana (state repository).

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PIT) party leader approached the Islamabad High Court Chief (IHC) against the electoral body's decision, contending that he had purchased the assets legally; hence, there was no reason for him not to mention the gifts in his assets statement.

However, on January 18, the PTI filed a fresh plea in the IHC to withdraw the petition, saying the cricketer-turned-politician wanted the Lahore High Court (LHC) to hear the matter. A separate petition had been filed in the LHC against Khan's disqualification.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq on Wednesday announced the verdict which was reserved on September 13, rejecting Khan's request to withdraw his petition against disqualification in the case.

According to The News International newspaper, the court will announce its reserved judgment later on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the ECP reserved its verdict on a petition seeking to remove the former premier as the head of the PTI party due to his conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case.

In November last year, the ECP found Khan guilty of not submitting accurate details of the gifts he got from the Toshakhana and disqualified him from public office. Later, he was convicted in the same case.

Khan is currently jailed at the high-security Adiala prison in Rawalpindi since September 26 in the cipher case for allegedly leaking state secrets and violating the laws of the country.