Khawaja Haris to represent Imran in NAB case despite ‘differences’ with PTI legal team

• Sources say Haris has serious reservations over induction of other lawyers.
• Senior lawyer says he has to comply with the court’s order.
• Counsel will appear before SC on August 28.

ISLAMABAD: A day after it was reported that Khwaja Haris, lead counsel of former prime minister chairman Imran Khan, quit Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s legal team, the senior lawyer would appear before the Supreme Court (SC) to represent PTI chief in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendments case, The News reported on Friday.

On Thursday, it was reported that Haris had parted ways due to misgivings over the "lack of discipline" within the PTI’s legal team.

Sources close to the senior lawyer revealed that he had serious reservations over the induction of other lawyers representing the former premier in scores of appeals pending before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The petitions had challenged the trial court’s order of August 5 after Khan was sentenced to three years in the Toshakhana reference. Since the verdict, the former premier had been behind bars in the Attock jail.

“I have been directed by the court to present my final arguments in the NAB amendment case and I have to comply with the court’s order,” Khwaja Haris told The News on Thursday when approached. 

Haris had extensively argued before the court in 19 hearings on the matter and he was now required to make his final arguments before the court.

Haris repeatedly avoided commenting on the reports when asked regarding his exit from Khan’s legal team as the lead counsel. He however said that he would appear before the apex court on August 28 in the NAB law amendments case.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umer Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsen and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah will hear the petition of Imran Khan, challenging the amendments made by the former coalition government to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, on August 28.

During the last hearing held on August 18, the court had directed counsels for the PTI chief and Makhdoom Ali Khan, counsel for the previous government, to prepare themselves for final arguments in the case.

Throughout the course of hearing, CJP Bandial had observed that it would be an embarrassment for him if he did not decide the petition challenging the amendments made to the NAO 1999 before his retirement. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah stressed for constituting a full court for hearing the instant matter.

The CJP would retire on September 16 and Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the senior-most judge of the apex court would take oath as the next chief justice of Pakistan.

Haris, who had extensively argued before the trial court and high court, representing former premier in the Toshakhana case, reportedly refused to appear in Khan’s cases.

In his place, Sardar Latif Khosa on Thursday appeared before a two-member bench of IHC led by Chief Justice Aamir Farooq, hearing the appeal of the former premier who had challenged his conviction by the trial court on August 5 in the Toshakhana reference case.