An Islamabad judge has declared the Toshakhana criminal case against Imran Khan ‘maintainable’ without hearing from the PTI chief, who failed to show up before the court, either in person or through a lawyer.

Khawaja Haris was to represent Imran Khan in the case, which the Islamabad High Court recently ordered to be heard within seven days. However, after the senior lawyer failed to appear before the court the judge forfeited his right of argument and reserved the judgment, which he announced later.

The PTI chief was seeking the dismissal of the criminal case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan under the Election Act 2017.

During the hearing, Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar also remarked that the court was unusually soft on the PTI chief. He allowed the PTI lawyer several hours to appear before the court.

When Haris did not show up, the court rejected Imran Khan’s petition for the dismissal of the case and declared the criminal case ‘maintainable.’

The court will now try Imran Khan and he has been asked to appear in person on Wednesday, July 12.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) last week sent back the matter to the trial court with the order that the hearing of the Toshakhana criminal case must be completed within seven days.

Granting Imran Khan’s petition the IHC quashed the indictment in the case and instructed the lower court to hear the arguments from Khan’s lawyer in support of his petition that sought the dismissal of the case.

However, the PTI chief challenged the IHC judgment before the Supreme Court which has already fixed it for a hearing.

It is not clear immediately if Imran Khan’s decision to avoid trial court was linked to his petition before the Supreme Court.

Imran Khan was originally due to appear before the trial court on Thursday when the seven-day deadline for the case began. However, the PTI chief did not show up either on Thursday or Friday. He sought exemption from appearance and his request was granted.

On Saturday, Khan again did not appear before the court, and lawyer Gohar Ali sought another exemption, claiming the PTI chief feared there could be a threat to his life at the district courts.

The judge noted that Khan was to be represented by his lawyer Khawaja Haris in the case according to the power of attorney, but that Haris had failed to show up even once in the past three days.

Related: Imran asks Justice Aamer Farooq to recuse himself from Toshakhana case

“Does only the accused have rights. Does the petitioner have no rights?” the judge asked.

The judge further said that the attitude of the accused towards the court was not right. “The court is being very lenient towards you in the Toshakhana case. There is no precedent of such lenient behavior anywhere else,” he said.

The judge allowed Haris until noon to appear before the court and reserved the judgment at around 2:30pm after hearing from the ECP lawyer.

Gohar unsuccessfully pleaded with the court to postpone the hearing until Monday.

The judge said Haris was a senior lawyer and such a behavior was unbecoming of him.

Every Pakistani has his eyes fixed on the Toshakhana case, said the judge adding that the case had affected the hearing of other cases in his court.

The former prime minister faces the charges of selling state gifts from Toshakhana, or the state gift repository, on the market to make money and then of lying to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the electoral body of the country.

The criminal proceedings against him stem from an ECP petition which accused him of ’’corrupt practice“ under section 190(2) of the Election Act.