LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) reprimanded the attorneys representing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) head on Tuesday for submitting documents with fraudulent signatures.
The division bench of the LHC, presided over by Justice Aalia Neelum, expressed scepticism about the dedication of counsel representing former prime minister Imran Khan. To find out if Imran’s arrest was recorded, the lawyer requested access to police records, but the court denied the request.
In February of this year, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh had requested Imran’s presence in court to verify the authenticity of his signature on three documents produced by his solicitors.
A civil miscellaneous motion for expedited procedures was heard before Justice Aalia in which PTI contested the dismissal of bail in seven instances lodged against its chairman following his detention.
As the trial began, the judge had some questions for Imran’s attorney. “Where is the lawyer?” she enquired. During a hearing, Imran’s counsel, Advocate Sikandar Zulqarnain, informed the court that he was in Islamabad to represent his client.
The court said, “Where is your power of attorney?” “Your signatures on the power of attorney are fake.”
Advocate Sikandar told the court, “I have signed on three cases, and my clerk has signed on three.”
“When you people do not have time, then why do you file cases?” Aalia, the judge, made a remark. “You should consider your seriousness when the case is filed by one person and pleaded by another.”
The attorney claimed that all pertinent paperwork would be submitted on the next date and asked the judge to review the case file to see if Imran’s arrest was mentioned.
“This court will pass such an order when there is a lawyer before this court,” observed the judge.
As a result, the court ordered the necessary paperwork to be submitted by October 25.
Forged signatures
When petitioner Imran requested for protective bail in February in connection with a case involving a protest outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Justice Sheikh noticed a discrepancy in the petitioner’s signatures.
He had accused the PTI’s lawyer of trying to fool the judge with fake evidence. Three documents (a petition, an affidavit, and a power of attorney) all have fake signatures.
The judge had already warned Imran and his lawyer that they would receive a contempt notice if they continued to lie to the court. Instead, he called the PTI Chairman in to check the authenticity of the signatures on the papers in question.
The head of the PTI said he was unaware of the petitions and apologised for his ignorance.
