Imran Khan's treason accusation was dismissed by a Pakistani court
Key Takeaways:
- On Monday, a Pakistani high court refused a request to file a treason charge against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and several ministers.
- On Saturday, an emergency petition was filed at the IHC, requesting the court prevent Khan from de-notifying General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Chief of Army Staff.
A Pakistani high court dismissed the plea to register a treason prosecution against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and other ministers on Monday, citing inadmissibility.
According to the Express Tribune newspaper, Chief Justice Athar Minallah of the Islamabad High Court issued a reserved verdict and fined petitioner Maulvi Iqbal Haider Rs100,000.
The court also shifted down a request to put the names of ex-premier and other former ministers on a no-fly list, as well as a request to investigate the diplomatic dispatch, which alleges a "foreign conspiracy to destabilize Imran Khan's administration."
According to the article, the court dismissed the plea on Monday, which sought to register a treason case against former PM Khan and other ministers, as objectionable.
Earlier, it was stated that, despite legal concerns, former Prime Minister Khan wrote a diplomatic letter from the Foreign Office to Pakistan's Chief Justice, Umar Ata Bandial, saying that a foreign government had delivered a threatening message through Pakistan's representative.
The CJP might not read the diplomatic letter, according to sources who spoke to The Express Tribune.
According to reports, a US official cautioned that if Khan had survived the opposition's no-confidence resolution in the National Assembly, consequences could have been.
On Saturday, an emergency plea was filed at the IHC, asking the court to stop Khan from de-notifying the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Khan was the first prime minister in the country's history to be sent home after losing the House of Commons' trust.
Khan discussed a 'threat letter' in a live address to the country last week, describing it as part of a foreign conspiracy to depose him because he was not acceptable for pursuing an independent foreign policy. He identified the United States as the source of the threat letter sent to his government.
The US State Department has flatly denied Khan's claims about Washington's complicity in an alleged foreign plot to depose him.
In an attempt to dispute suspicions of American involvement in the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan's government, the US also stated that it did not send any letter to Pakistan regarding the present political situation in the country.