Counsel concedes Imran surrendered guardian rights for Tyrian

ISLAMABAD: A counsel for PTI chief Imran Khan has conceded the veracity of an affidavit Mr Khan submitted before a court in California stating that he had surrendered the guardian rights of his alleged daughter Tyrian Jade White Khan.

Salman Akram Raja, the counsel, admitted before a three-member larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday that “Mr Khan never denied, nor disowned the affidavit”.

The bench had taken up a petition seeking disqualification of Imran Khan for concealing his alleged daughter.

The bench comprised Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir.

The affidavit was submitted by Mr Khan to the Superior Court of California in response to a notice issued to him on a suit filed by Tyrian’s aunt, who sought her custody.

Earlier, Tyrian’s mother Sita White had filed a suit seeking the grant of a decree that Mr Khan was the father of Tyrian Jade White.

The PTI chairman initially joined the proceedings through his attorney, but defaulted after he was asked to undergo a blood test, it added.

However, he later submitted a declaration to a court of guardianship when Caroline White, Sita’s sister, urged the court to appoint her as Tyrian’s guardian, the petition alleged.

Hamid Ali Shah, counsel for the petitioner, argued that Mr Khan had declared in his nomination papers that his wife Bushra Bibi was his dependent while he had wrongly mentioned only two children — “Qasim Khan and Sulaiman Khan” — and had omitted the third.

Mr Shah asserted Imran Khan had to prove that the affidavit was not genuine.

However, Mr Khan’s counsel Salman Raja argued that his client had never disowned the affidavit.

The bench was about to decide maintainability of the petition on Tuesday, but could not do so because the counsel for the petitioner started arguing on some other aspects of the case.

The court adjourned the hearing to next week, asking Mr Khan’s counsel to conclude arguments on maintainability during the hearing.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2023