Islamabad:The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday adjourned hearing till November 27, on appeals of PTI founder and Bushra Bibi against their sentences in Toshahana-I reference.
The legal team, during this day hearing, opposed the NAB request to remand back the case to the trial court and prayed the bench to decide the appeals on merit.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the appeals of two accused. The trial court had announced 14-year jail term each to PTI founder and Bushra Bibi.
Defense Lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar said that the prosecution had concluded its case in trial court and now it is requesting for re-trial of the reference. The prosecution wanted to revise the whole process, he said.
NAB’s Special Prosecutor Amjad Pervaiz said that the accused didn’t cooperate with the trial court due to which this happened.
The chief justice remarked that we also have to view that if the bench could go towards the merits of the case. This court
had taken the decision in two months in cypher case, he said.
The chief justice remarked that this case couldn’t be compared with cypher case because the defense was not given opportunity to cross examine the witnesses and the statement of section-342 was also not recorded.
On the query of bench, Ali Zafar said that he would conclude his arguments in five to six hours. The further hearing of the case was then adjourned till November 27.