LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday dismissed with cost a Punjab government appeal seeking transfer of May 9 cases involving PTI founder Imran Khan and other leaders from one anti-terrorism court of Rawalpindi to another.

Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan rejected a prosecution’s request to withdraw the transfer applications and imposed a cost of Rs200,000 on the government. He remarked that despite being both the complainant and the investigation agency, the police did not expect justice from courts.

He advised if there was danger even in jail, the police should reside in the sky. He noted that the judge of the Rawalpindi ATC also complained that the litigants were not allowed to enter the court on the pretext of security threats. Expressing displeasure over the plea, he stated that any party wishing to halt the trial proceedings simply files a transfer request.

The CJ asked a law officer what the government wanted if it had no trust in the judges of Lahore and Islamabad high courts. He regretted that those responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Constitution and law were doing everything against it.

The government’s plea had stated that it did not expect justice from the judge of ATC No. 1 in Rawalpindi, therefore, the cases should be transferred to another court.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2024