A session court in Islamabad postponed the Toshakhana trial after Imran Khan did not appear in person.

The PTI chairman’s lawyer told the court that the decision to send the case to trial court had been challenged in the Islamabad High Court where it is set for hearing later on Wednesday.

When Judge Humayun Dilawar asked where Imran Khan was, lawyer Niazullah Niazi said that he would file a request for exemption from hearing.

In reply, the judge aksed the lawyer if he had ever heard of a case which had gone on for seven months while the accused had appeared only once.

The judge then said he was only exempting Imran Khan from appearance because of the hearing in the high court.

He then postponed hearing till July 13 and asked for the high court order to be submitted by 11:30 am.

On July 8, the trial court had declared the Toshakhana case to be maintainable after Imran Khan failed to appear in-person or through counsel.

The PTI chief had already been indicted in the case after his arrest on May 9. However, he appealed in the Islamabad High Court which ruled that the indictment had been made without due procedure.

In a twist, the IHC refused to qaush the Toshakhana case and instead sent it back to the trial court for re-trial, ordering that the case should be heard within seven days.

Now, Imran Khan has once again approached the high court to challenge the legality of a retrial saying it indicates malintent.