LAHORE - Justice Shahid Kareem of the Lahore High Court has recused himself from hearing a case against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The LHC judge recused himself from hearing a civil miscellaneous application filed for the provision of expenses details of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s foreign tours.
The judge sent the file to Lahore High Court Chief Justice Sardar Shamim Khan so as to transfer the case to another court.
While hearing the civil miscellaneous application, Justice Shahid Kareem observed that he did not want to hear the case.
Petitioner A K Dogar asked why his every case was sent to another court when it was fixed for hearing. The judge replied that it was his discretionary power and he did not want to hear the case.
Petition states that PM Imran Khan had promised the nation that he would not use special planes. He (Imran) had also claimed that he would prefer to committing suicide to taking loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as begging in Islam is forbidden, it further says. However, he sought 3 billion dollars from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it further adds.
It pleads that children in Thar area of Sindh province were suffering from malnutrition while the PM was living a luxurious life and spending millions of rupees besides using special jets.
Petitioner submitted that court may kindly seek details of the expenditures spent on 9 foreign tours of PM Imran Khan.
Also in march 2019, Justice Shahid Waheed, one of a two-judge LHC bench had recused himself from a petition seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Imran Khan as Member of the National Assembly. As a result the bench comprising Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh and Justice Shahid Waheed stood dissolved.
The petition had been moved by Mudassar Chaudhry of the Pakistan Justice and Democratic Party. The petitioner had submitted that Imran Khan was elected as MNA from NA-131 but he was not “sadiq and ameen” as required under Articles 62 & 63 of the Constitution.