Supreme Court Bar Association President Abid Zuberi has said that a rushed conviction and sentencing of PTI Chairman Imran Khan by Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar has shown his bias against Khan.

“A suspect reserves the right to produce his witness. You closed their side of the argument without hearing his [Khan] witness. You gave a verdict without hearing Khan’s lawyers and handed the maximum punishment to the PTI chief. Unfortunately, justice has not been served in this case,” he told Shaukat Piracha on Aaj News show Rubaroo.

He also questioned the manner in which the PTI chairman was arrested, saying “his arrest is astonishing as the court in Islamabad had not released the verdict and Khan was arrested in Lahore”.

Zuberi went on to add that the right process is issuing an arrest warrant which would then be sent to the home department of Punjab and then it will execute the warrant.

“He [Khan] was arrested as soon as the judgment was announced orally. It means that everything had been planned beforehand,” he added.

Speaking on the show, former deputy attorney general Raja Khalid Mehmood was of the view that Khan had used every delaying tactic to avoid appearing before the court.

“More than 40 hearings were conducted in this case. Out of which, the PTI chairman only appeared on three occasions,” he said. “Tell me which judge or tribunal is not biased according to him [Khan]?”

Responding to a question regarding the PTI’s protest after the arrest of its chief, Mehmood said that peaceful protest is the fundamental right given and assured by the Constitution of Pakistan.

“However, ridiculing and abusing the judges is punishable by law. I pray that there is not a repeat of the May 9 protests where military installations were attacked and hurt the sentiments of the martyrs’ families,” he added.

Both the legal experts declined to give their views regarding the suspension of the conviction as they said that they have not read the court’s judgment.