Pakistan Supreme Court

Election Commission failed to perform its duties in Feb 8 elections: Pak SC

Order also expressed 'some doubts about whether the commission has the power to reject the certificate of intra-party elections' which resulted in all kinds of legal and political implications for PTI

44 yrs after hanging, Pak SC says Bhutto's trial didn't follow due process

Lahore High Court had sentenced Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to death on March 18, 1978, on charges of ordering the assassination of Ahmed Reza Kasuri, a founding member of the PPP

Pak SC rejects plea seeking re-election over allegations of rigging

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed as a publicity stunt a petition seeking new elections over alleged irregularities in the February 8 polls, clearing the way for the formation of a coalition government to end the political uncertainty in the country. The apex court also imposed a fine on the petitioner, a former army officer, over his failure to appear before the court. Retired Brigadier Ali Khan last week urged the apex court to order new elections within 30 days to be held under the direct supervision and oversight of the judiciary to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability. He had also sought a stay order to stop the formation of a new government till the case was decided. However, the petitioner failed to attend two consecutive hearings. Subsequently, a three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, and comprising of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali, disposed of the plea and imposed a fine of Pakistani Rs ..

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan sentenced to 10 years in jail in Cipher case

Cipher case: Shah Mahmood Qureshi, former foreign minister, was also sentenced along with Khan

Pak Supreme Court upholds late Musharraf's death sentence in treason case

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld late former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf's death sentence handed out to him by a special court in 2019 in the high treason case. Musharraf, the architect of the Kargil War in 1999 and Pakistan's last military ruler died on February 5 in Dubai after a prolonged illness. The 79-year-old former president was undergoing treatment for amyloidosis in Dubai. He has been living in the UAE since 2016 in self-exile to avoid criminal charges back home. A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah conducted the hearing. On December 17, 2019, a special court handed out the death sentence to the former ruler after a case of high treason was filed against him during Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party's tenure for his "unconstitutional" decision to impose an emergency in November 2007. The apex court announced the reserv

Pak SC judge Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar resigns amid corruption allegations

A Pakistan Supreme Court judge who was facing allegations of corruption resigned on Wednesday, a day after the apex court's disciplinary committee refused to stay proceedings against him for his misconduct. In a letter to the Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar tendered his resignation and said that he couldn't carry forward his duties amidst the allegations and the way he was treated. "It was an honour to be appointed and to serve as a judge first of the Lahore High Court and then as the Supreme Court of Pakistan. In the circumstances which are a matter of public knowledge and to some extent public record, it is no longer possible for me to continue to serve as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice Naqvi said. Considerations of due process also compel. I, therefore, effective today resign as judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, he added. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected Justice Naqvi's request to stay proceedings against him in th

Pakistan Supreme Court reserves verdict in lifetime disqualification case

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday reserved its judgment in the hearing of a key case that would settle the issue of lifetime disqualification of some leading politicians, including former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan. The verdict is expected to determine once and for all the controversy around the period of disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution and the Elections Act 2017. A 2018 judgment by a five-member bench of the apex court had declared that disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) was for life, but changes made in the Elections Act 2017 on June 26, 2023, by a coalition government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) restricted it to a five-year term only. A seven-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, conducted the hearing on Friday. During the hearing, the chief justice remarked that the Supreme Court verdict on lifetime disqualification and the amendments to the Elections Act 2017 could not co-exist. He also stated th

Watch: Former Pakistan foreign minister Qureshi manhandled by police

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who served as foreign minister in Imran Khan's govt, was again arrested from outside the Adiala jail after being released on bail in the cipher case

Pak SC returns appeal against 3-year conviction of former PM Imran Khan

Pakistan's Supreme Court office has returned an appeal seeking to set aside the three-year conviction of former prime minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana corruption case, according to a media report on Sunday. The registrar's office on Saturday returned the appeal moved by 71-year-old Khan through his counsel Latif Khosa under Article 185 of the Constitution, challenging December 11, 2023, Islamabad High Court (IHC) decision of rejecting a similar plea for lacking requirements, including the absence of actual controversies or chronology of the past litigation. The petition was filed with a plea to overturn the August 5 conviction of Khan by an additional sessions judge of the IHC for illegally selling state gifts, Dawn News reported. The Toshakhana case is based on the allegations that the the former premier violated the Toshakhana or state repository rules. All gifts given by foreign leaders to Pakistani top leaders on their trips are kept in the Toshakhana. The registrar's off

Pakistan's SC hears petition on deportation of Afghans born in country

Pakistan's top court opened a hearing on Friday on a petition by human rights activists seeking to halt the forceful deportation of Afghans who were born in Pakistan and those who would be at risk if they were returned to Afghanistan. The deportations are part of a nationwide crackdown by the government in Islamabad that started last month on Afghans who are in Pakistan without papers or proper documentation. Pakistan claims the campaign does not target Afghans specifically, though they make up most of the foreigners in the country. Pakistan has long hosted about 1.7 million Afghans, most of whom fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation. In addition, more than half a million people fled Afghanistan when the Taliban seized power in August 2021, in the final weeks of US and NATO pullout. Since Islamabad launched the crackdown in October, giving Afghans until the end of the month to go back or face arrest, hundreds of thousands have returned home, many in Pakistan-organised ...

Pakistan's top court begins hearing challenge to expulsion of Afghans

More than 370,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan since Oct. 1, after Pakistan vowed to expel more than a million undocumented refugees, mostly Afghans

Pakistan Supreme Court moved seeking removal of President Alvi: Reports

A petition has been filed in Pakistan's Supreme Court seeking President Arif Alvi's removal as the head of the state over "misconduct" and failure to maintain impartiality in performing his duties, according to media reports on Sunday. The petition, filed by one Ghulam Murtaza Khan on Saturday, alleges that the president has been evasive in performing his constitutional obligations, the Dawn newspaper reported. He has violated the Constitution and committed gross misconduct; therefore, he is not eligible to continue his duties as the president and needs to be declared that he should not continue as president of Pakistan, the petition said. Being the head of the State, he is under constitutional obligation to work in accordance with the law, but he was misusing the powers and violating the Constitution continuously by his words and conducts, it said.

Imran Khan moves Pakistan SC for bail in Al-Qadir Trust corruption case

Imran Khan has moved the Supreme Court for bail in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case in which the jailed former prime minister and his wife are accused of receiving land worth billions of rupees as a bribe from a real estate tycoon, according to a media report. Khan, 71, who has been incarcerated in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since September 26 in various cases, Friday moved the apex court following rejection of his plea by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on November 14. According to The Express Tribune newspaper, Khan in the bail application alleged that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), while acting as a tool of the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, used the case to harass him on political grounds. In the appeal, the Supreme Court was requested to annul the IHC decision of November 14 and the decision of the accountability court on August 10 on his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case. The Ali-Qadir Trust case is about the settlement of 190 million .

Pak military appeals SC order that declared civilians' trial illegal

The petition also warned that declaring some sections of the Army Act and Official Secrets Act illegal would harm the country, it said

Toshakhana case: Islamabad High Court suspends Imran Khan's 3-year sentence

A trial court in Islamabad convicted and sentenced the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan to three years in prison on August 5

Pak court rule on Imran Khan's conviction in Toshakhana corruption case

A Pakistani high court is expected to give its ruling on Friday on the appeal by former prime minister Imran Khan challenging his conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case, a day after the hearing was adjourned. The Islamabad High Court hearing the challenge since August 22 is closing on the conclusion as rival lawyers are expected to complete the arguments on Friday. A panel of judges comprising Chief Justice Amer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri adjourned the hearing on Thursday for one day. Khan, 70, is currently in Attock Jail where he was lodged after arrest following his conviction. He has also been disqualified from holding any public office for five years. Earlier, Khan's lawyer Latif Khosa offered his argument against the conviction, asserting that the verdict was given in haste and full of shortcomings. He urged the court to set aside the sentence but the defence team demanded more time to complete its arguments. Judge Humayun Dilawar of the Islamabad-based

'Shortcomings' in trial court's judgment against Imran: Pak chief justice

Pakistan's Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday said there were "shortcomings" in the Toshakhana corruption case judgment convicting former premier Imran Khan and the Supreme Court would give its verdict after seeing the outcome of the hearing in the high court. The Islamabad High Court is set to hear on Thursday a petition challenging the conviction of 70-year-old Khan, who was sentenced to three years in jail on August 5 by a session court.

Name of caretaker premier to be finalised by Saturday, says Pak PM Sharif

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday the name of the caretaker premier would be finalised by Saturday, as the country's president wrote to him and the opposition leader to propose a "suitable person" for appointment by August 12. Prime Minister Sharif told journalists in Islamabad that he and opposition leader Raja Riaz would finalise the name by Saturday and the former coalition parties would also be taken on board for political consultations. Coalition partners will be taken into confidence over the matter before taking a final decision, he said. Sharif said the Constitution provided eight days for the appointment of the caretaker premier after the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA), the lower house of Parliament. According to the Constitution, the premier and the outgoing opposition leader in the NA have three days to decide the name of the interim prime minister. In case the two fail to agree on a name, the matter would be referred to a parliamentary ..

Pak SC dismisses former PM Imran Khan's plea against Toshakhana trial

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday dismissed Imran Khan's plea against trial proceedings in a corruption case in which the former premier is accused of concealing details of the gifts he retained from the state repository, as he withdrew the case. While dismissing the plea in the Toshakhana case, the apex court observed that the application seeking the transfer of the case to another court was underway in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The court expressed the hope that the trial and the IHC will make decisions as per the law. The Supreme Court observed that the said decision would not affect other pleas filed by Khan, 70. Khan is accused of misusing his 2018 to 2022 premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than Rs 140 million (USD 635,000). On Wednesday, the apex court turned down Khan's request to stay the trial in the Toshakhana case being heard at an Islamabad sessions court. However, it had also granted relief

Pak SC rejects Imran Khan's plea to stay criminal proceedings against him

Khan is accused of misusing his 2018 to 2022 premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than Rs 140 million (USD 635,000)