Let’s have a look at the annual summary of significant cases heard by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and its lower courts as the year 2023 draws to a close.
The year’s headlines were dominated by a number of cases the high court took up involving prominent politicians.
Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (IHC), was arrested on May 9 from the high court’s premises in connection with the £190 million settlement lawsuit. This was one of the significant incidents related to the IHC.
The incident occurred just before the IHC moved into a new facility on Constitution Avenue, or Shahrah-e-Dastoor, in the nation’s capital.
Later, the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Section 3 complaints against the arrests of PTI leaders were also brought before the IHC.
In the past year, the high court granted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who had returned to the country following a four-year self-imposed exile in London, a significant reprieve in the form of an acquittal in two separate graft cases: the Avenfield reference and the Al-Azizia Sugar Mills case.
Prior to this, the IHC annulled his status as an absconder following his “surrender” before the court and reinstated his appeals about the convictions in these cases, which had previously been dismissed because of his absence.
A four-week timetable was set by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq in a landmark verdict for the trial of Imran Khan, the former prime minister who was ousted from office by a parliamentary vote in April.
In the past year, the high court granted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who had returned to the country following a four-year self-imposed exile in London, a significant reprieve in the form of an acquittal in two separate graft cases: the Avenfield reference and the Al-Azizia Sugar Mills case.
Prior to this, the IHC annulled his status as an absconder following his “surrender” before the court and reinstated his appeals about the convictions in these cases, which had previously been dismissed because of his absence.
A four-week timetable was set by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq in a landmark verdict for the trial of Imran Khan, the former prime minister who was ousted from office by a parliamentary vote in April.
In addition, the IHC held other hearings on matters involving missing persons, including the forced disappearance of Baloch students and Mudassir Naro.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and then-interim Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti were called before Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the IHC, but as Bugti was abroad at the time, he gave the court an assurance that the missing people would be found.
The IHC also started contempt of court proceedings against the Islamabad district commissioner and senior superintendent of police for disobeying orders and halted the detention orders issued by a district magistrate for the arrest of PTI leaders Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar under 3-MPO.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan was sentenced by Judge Humayun Dilawar of the Additional Sessions Court, which is under the IHC, to
