LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday accepted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s plea for protective bail in two separate cases registered against him in Islamabad.
A division bench of the LHC, headed by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, on Monday had directed Imran Khan’s counsel to ensure the appearance of the petitioner in the court on Tuesday if he wanted relief. The former premier had sought protective bail in two criminal cases registered against the PTI chief by the Counter-Terrorism Department and Golra Police Station in the federal capital. However, the court returned two other applications for protective bail required in the NAB cases, saying that the plea be put before the proper forum.
LHC bench
The former prime minister appeared before the court in a “decoy vehicle” to seek protective bail. Justice Shehbaz Rizvi and Justice Farooq Haider took up the pleas. Khan (70) is facing several criminal cases, including the one that prompted a failed attempt to arrest him after a court issued warrants for his arrest for not appearing before it.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the court awarded Khan a protective bail till March 27. Islamabad’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and the Police Station Golra Sharif had registered cases against PTI chief and several other PTI leaders following clashes between the PTI workers and the police outside Federal Judicial Complex after Khan reached there to attend the hearing of Toshakhana case last week.
The FIRs registered at the Counter-Terrorism Department and the Golra police stations in Islamabad accused the PTI chairman and the party workers of being involved in assaulting police and creating unrest outside the Judicial Complex in Islamabad during hearing of the Toshakhana case on March 18.
The PTI chief was accompanied by aide Fawad Chaudhry, party lawyers and private security guards. Imran renewed claims that his life was in danger adding that the incumbent government wanted to kill him and a “trap” was also laid at the Judicial Complex on the occasion of hearing of the Toshakhana case on Saturday.
The PTI chief has survived an assassination attempt in 2022 and had blamed senior figures in the government and military for it. Immediately after arriving in the court, Khan first appeared before Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh as he took up the PTI’s contempt petition against the police operation at his Zaman Park residence here on March 18. As the hearing started, Justice Sheikh inquired about the guards present in the court along with Imran to which Fawad Chaudhry replied that they were part of Khan’s “personal security”.
However, the judge directed the security guards to leave the courtroom, stating that police officers were already there for security. At one point during the hearing, Imran Khan took the rostrum and recalled the events of March 18 (Saturday). He said his wife was alone at Zaman Park home that day, yet the police smashed the windows of his house. “Obstructions were erected at multiple points only so that I could not reach the court,” he told the presiding judge.
At that, the court instructed the government’s lawyer to seek directions from the concerned quarters regarding the Zaman Park operation. “I will initiate contempt proceedings against all those sitting in the media and making a joke of the judiciary,” said Justice Sheikh and also warned that action would be taken if the respondents in the case didn’t respect the court. “We have to work as per the law, we only listen to what the law states,” the judge added.
Earlier, the police presented a report in the court, which said that six cases were registered against Imran Khan in Punjab province. Three of the FIRs were registered at the Race Course police station here, while others were filed at Sarwar Road police station, Rawalpindi’s New Airport police station and Madina Town police station in Faisalabad.
However, Justice Sheikh instructed the police to submit details of cases against Imran lodged by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Accountability Bureau as well. The judge also inquired about the dates of the First Information Reports (FIRs) and if the report included all the latest FIRs as well, saying that “FIRs are being registered everyday”. The police, however, replied that the report included detail of all the FIRs lodged until yesterday (Monday).
“What is the issue in providing the FIRs details? Today is the era of [using] WhatsApp … you can find everything within minutes,” the judge remarked and then adjourned the hearing till 1 p.m. The court also instructed the police to present the complete case record in the court.
When the hearing resumed, Justice Sheikh asked the government’s lawyer to submit an affidavit along with the details of the cases lodged against Imran Khan. “Collect the details in two days and also give relief to the petitioner,” the judge stated.
