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Legal experts say a possible conviction in the case could end
Khan's political career.
The Supreme Court asked Khan to go back to the Islamabad High
Court to seek a ruling over his objections, according to an
order seen by a Reuters reporter who attended the top court's
proceedings.
Khan's legal team moved to the top court this month after the
high court ruled against their plea that the trial couldn't be
maintained on the election commission's petition, according to
Khan's lawyer Barrister Gohar Khan.
The Supreme Court cannot interfere in the trial court
proceedings, said one judge on the two-member panel of the top
court, which disposed of Khan's petition, directing the high
court to hear all his petitions related to the trial.
The trial court had indicted Khan in May on the charges and
summoned him to commence his formal trial, which is now pending
due to the challenge by his legal team in the high court.
The trial court case relates to an inquiry conducted by the
Election Commission of Pakistan, which found Khan guilty of
unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime
minister from 2019 to 2022.
The 70-year-old cricket hero-turned-politician has been
embroiled in a string of court cases since he was ousted in a
parliamentary vote of confidence last year after having fallen
out with the powerful military, which tends to decide who will
rule the 220-million South Asian nation.
The military denies having a role in his ouster.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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