LHC grants Imran Khan protective bail in 9 cases

• LHC approved Imran Khan’s protective bail in nine case
• The court approved bail in  5 cases in Islamabad till March 24
• Court approved bail in four cases in Lahore till March 27

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday approved protective bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in nine cases registered against him.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Farooq Haider approved the bail in five cases registered in Islamabad till March 24. The court also approved bail in four cases registered in Lahore till March 27.

Two cases regarding vandalism at the Islamabad Judicial Complex while another concerns the police operation at Zaman Park. A case also concerns the recent death of PTI activist Zille Shah.

Imran Khan appeared in court amid high security along with PTI leaders and his lawyers. He told the court that the election campaign has been halted due to the plethora of cases against him.

As the court commenced hearing, Imran’s lawyer Advocate Azhar Siddique informed the court that there were five cases registered against the PTI chief in Islamabad and four in Lahore.

The counsel said Imran had filed pleas for protective bail in order to appear before the relevant courts. He further said that Imran had also not been informed of the details of some of the cases registered against him.

Imran appeared at the rostrum and said that there were so many cases registered that he was unable to continue his political activities. He said as soon as he secures bail in one case, another case is filed against him.

He thanked the LHC for stopping the police operation at his residence in Zaman Park and “saving him”. Imran said there was an assassination attempt on him but still he is not being provided security.

He said the session court in F-8 Islamabad was not secure and there has even been a suicide attack at the court premises. He said they have filed a plea to transfer the case but no progress has been made.

Justice Sheikh said Imran Khan should abide by the legal system.  “I believe in the rule of law. I cannot even imagine of not appearing in the courts,” Imran replied.

The lawyer for the Punjab government said the PTI was claiming there were five terrorism cases against Imran when there were actually six. “There are 94 cases against me. If six more are registered, it will make it a century,” Imran quipped.

A single-member bench by Justice Sheikh also heard a case filed by the PTI Chairman seeking details of all the cases registered against him.

Additional Advocate General Punjab requested time to provide the details after contacting the Regional Police Officers (RPO) regarding the cases registered against the PTI chief.

IHC suspends arrest warrant

Earlier today, the Islamabad High Court stopped the police on from arresting PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard Imran Khan’s plea challenging the order of Islamabad’s district and session court that had issued the arrest warrant for the PTI chief.

The high court said that the former prime minister should be given a chance to appear before the court. The court suspended the arrest warrant till Saturday (tomorrow) and ordered him to appear before the trial court.

The IHC’s Registrar’s Office had earlier raised objections to Khan’s petition challenging his arrest warrants in the Toshakhana case.

The PTI chief’s biometric verification is not available, the office noted. “How can the high court hear the same matter on which it has already made its decision?” the office also questioned. Later, the court decided to take up Imran Khan’s plea with objections.

During the hearing, the IHC chief justice inquired about the objections raised on the petition. Imran Khan’s counsel, Khawaja Haris, informed that the biometric verification issue had been addressed.

About the objections regarding the IHC’s decision on the previous petition, he said that the court had referred the matter to the trial court. “We had asked the court to look into the undertaking issue,” the chief justice said.

He noted that everyone is equal before the law. “You want to appear before the court and give assurance in this regard?” he asked.

The lawyer requested the bench to suspend the arrest warrant so that the PTI chief could appear before the court. Justice Farooq warned the lawyer that there would be consequences if he doesn’t fulfil the promise and contempt proceedings will be initiated.

The court directed the police to not arrest Imran Khan until he appears in court. The court also ordered the district administration and Islamabad police to provide security. The PTI chief assured the court of his appearance before the Islamabad court tomorrow (Saturday).

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