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Sunday, November 17, 2024

Prohibited funding case: Judge expels journalists from courtroom

Special Judge Banking Court Rakhshanda Shaheen asked everyone to leave the courtroom, including the journalists present for the media coverage.

Special Judge Banking Court Rakhshanda Shaheen expelled journalists from the courtroom during the hearing of the prohibited funding case against PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

According to the details, on the basis of a security threat as announced by the police authorities, Judge Rakhshanda Shaheen asked everyone to leave the courtroom, including the journalists present for the media coverage of the important case.

The journalists raised objections on being asked to leave the courtroom, at which Judge Rakhshanda got angry with the media personnel and said that it is her court and she can run it as she wants. There will be no media coverage.

“Supreme Court, High Court, District Courts, and Special Courts have never banned media coverage inside the court like the way Banking Court Judge Rakhshanda Shaheen banned it without any reason during the hearing of Imran Khan’s interim bail. I am also surprised, what is happening?” journalist Saqib Bashir said.

Read more: PTI challenges ECP verdict in prohibited funding case

“Have covered the cases of many politicians, but it is happening for the first time that the media was stopped from coverage during the bail hearing of the former Prime Minister Imran Khan by Banking Court Judge Rakhshanda Shaheen. Is this a bigger court than the Supreme Court and the High Court? If you can cover there, why not here?” journalist Fiaz Mahmood asked on social media.

It is pertinent to note here that the Federal Investigation Agency had registered a case against the PTI chief and 10 others over accusations of receiving prohibited funding. The case had been registered by the FIA Corporate Banking Circle.

The case’s First Information Report (FIR) stated that the accused including the former premier violated Foreign Exchange Act and all of the nominated persons were beneficiaries of the private bank account.

Read more: Imran Khan granted protective bail in prohibited funding case

The PTI chief had challenged the banking court’s order that was issued on January 31. The banking court had rejected Khan’s plea for attending the hearing of the prohibited funding case via video link, and Special Judge Banking Court Rakhshanda Shaheen had given one last opportunity to former prime minister Imran Khan for his personal appearance for pre-arrest bail in the prohibited funding case being under investigation of the Federal Investigation Agency.