ISLMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan, and founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), appeared before the Supreme Court via video link on Thursday to present his arguments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendments case.
The matter, brought before the Supreme Court through intra-court appeals filed by both federal and provincial governments against the NAB amendments invalidated by the apex court, was deliberated by a five-member larger bench led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa. Other members included Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi.
Today’s court session for the case was not broadcasted live. Earlier, arrangements were finalized at Adiala Jail, as instructed by the Supreme Court, for the appearance of PTI founder, as reported by a private TV channel, citing jail sources.
According to sources, the Adiala jail administration informed the PTI founder about his video link appearance. They also mentioned that personnel from the Supreme Court and jail authorities conducted a test of the video link before Khan’s appearance.
Imran Khan’s Appearance via Video Link;
Khan, incarcerated in Adiala jail, wanted to appear in the top court in person to present his arguments after which the court allowed him to defend himself via video link.
A day ago, his lawyers Khawaja Haris and Intezar Panjutha held a short meeting with Khan in jail following the SC’s order.
“The PTI founder can present his arguments in the upcoming hearing via video link if he wishes to do so […] arrangements should be made for the presentation of arguments via video link,” Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa had said Tuesday.
He remarked this during hearing of the federal government’s intra-court appeal against the SC’s 2023 verdict that annulled some of the NAB amendments. This case was also being heard by the aforementioned bench.
The ex-premier has been out of sight since August 2023 after he was nabbed following a conviction in the Toshakhana case.
After being arrested, the PTI founder was found guilty in several cases, including cypher and unlawful marriage, he remained imprisoned even though he had obtained bail in some of the cases.
