Al Jazeera :
A court in Islamabad on Wednesday dismissed the petition from former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking to move a key appeal filed by him to Lahore, marking the latest setback for his attempts to contest upcoming national elections.
Khan has been behind bars since August 5. He was initially convicted for not disclosing assets earned from the sale of gifts from foreign dignitaries meant to be kept in a state depository, and later in a case about revealing state secrets.
The case involving gifts led to Pakistan’s election commission disqualifying him from parliament.
He had filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court in October last year against that ban on his participation in electoral politics.
However, in January this year, Khan and his legal team sought to withdraw the appeal from the Islamabad High Court, contending that they have filed a subsequent plea in the Lahore High Court.
In March, before his eventual imprisonment, the Lahore High Court had granted protective bail to Khan in multiple cases.
However, Amer Farooq, the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court, expressed his displeasure over the matter, saying the case should be heard where the appeal was first filed.
