Khawaja Haris parts ways with Imran Khan’s legal team over ‘discipline’ issues

• Haris unhappy over interference of other legal team members.
• Advises PTI legal team against raising objections over IHC CJ: sources.
• Latif Khosa, others will represent PTI chief in Toshakhana case.

ISLAMABAD: Khawaja Haris, the lead counsel of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, has decided to quit his legal team, Geo News learnt on Thursday.

Sources told Geo News that the senior lawyer decided to part ways due to reservations over "discipline" within the PTI chief’s legal team.

Senior lawyer Latif Khosa will now represent the former premier in the Supreme Court and the high court in different cases ranging from terrorism to corruption.

The insiders said advocate Haris had advised the PTI’s legal team against raising objections over Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq who is hearing the Toshakhana case.

However, other members had called for raising objections on the bench hearing Imran’s petition challenging the trial court verdict.

Sources said Haris was apparently not happy over the interference of other legal team members in the decisions taken by the former as the lead counsel of the PTI chief.

They said Haris has returned the files of all cases to the PTI chief’s legal team and he will not appear for the Toshakhana case hearing in the IHC.

As per sources, Khosa and other team members will represent the PTI chief in Toshkahana and other cases being heard by different courts.

The PTI chief had hired Khawaja Haris to represent him in Toshakhana, NAB amendments, and other cases in the Supreme Court, IHC, and other courts.

The development two days after PTI announced that it would file a reference against IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) after a bench headed by the judge refused to suspend former prime minister Imran Khan’s sentence in the Toshakhana case.

In a statement, the PTI Core Committee, which is handling the party matters due to the incarceration of the party chairman, condemned the adjournment of the case by IHC till Thursday (today).

“It has been decided to file a reference against Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq in the Supreme Judicial Council to ensure the independence of the judiciary,” the party said.

It also urged Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial to take notice of the manner in which the IHC CJ issued the decision today.