PML-N president and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has critcised the Islamabad High Court’s verdict of suspending PTI Chief Imran Khan’s sentence in the Toshakhana criminal case.

He was of the view that the chief justice himself became a monitoring judge to save the PTI chief.

“Before the decision comes, everyone knows what the decision will be, so it should be a momentary concern for the justice system. If a clear message is received from the higher judiciary, then what else should the subordinate court do?” he wrote on X.

Earlier, a two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court suspended Khan’s three-year sentence in the Toshakhana criminal case. The court announced its reserved verdict on the petition at around 1pm.

A detailed written order was being prepared and it would soon be released, containing the reasons for suspension of sentence, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said.

The high court ordered the PTI chief to submit worth Rs100,000 surety bond.

Read: Supreme Court says Islamabad court judgement against Imran Khan ‘flawed’

“This role of justice system will be written in the dark chapter of history. The scales tilted to one side and a justice system that undermines justice is not acceptable,” Sharif stated.

Without mentioning the PTI chief, the former PM said that the law is powerless before the one who sold the watches. He was referring to the Toshakhana criminal case which stemmed from a petition filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan under section 190(2) of the Election Act accusing of selling state gifts on the market to make money.

Sharif questioned the role of the judiciary in the proceedings against the PTI chief, saying “if thieves and state terrorists are facilitated, then from where will the common man get justice in the country?”