ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), got a sigh of relief as Supreme Court (SC) on Monday restricted the police from arresting him till August 9 in the case of murder of senior lawyer Abdul Razzaq Shar in Quetta.
Khan has filed a petition in the SC against his nomination in the FIR related to Shar’s shooting in Quetta in June.
Advocate Shar was shot dead by three unidentified motorcyclists on June 6 on his way to the Balochistan High Court (BHC).
On the complaint of the slain lawyer’s son, Advocate Siraj Ahmed, in Quetta, the first information report (FIR) had been registered against Khan and others under the charges of murder, the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), and other provisions.
Ataullah Tarar, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM), claimed that the targeted death was connected to a treason case Shar was pleading against Imran Khan under Article 6 of the Constitution, holding the PTI chairman “directly responsible” for the killing.
A three-member bench comprising Justice Mussarat Hilali, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi asked Khan to appear before the court on August 9.
The PTI leader appeared before the court at the beginning of the proceedings, as instructed by the bench at the previous session. However, the arguments from the lawyers of the complainant couldn’t be presented because of his absence.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan advocate general pleaded with the court to order the PTI Chairman to appear before the case investigation officer (IO). At this, Justice Naqvi asked why Khan was required to join the investigation.
Justice Afridi then ordered the government lawyer to take directives for including Imran Khan in the investigations and present them to the court before the complainant’s lawyer in the coming hearing.
Later, at the request of the case complainant, the court adjourned the hearing till August 9.
Khan had petitioned the SC to quashing the FIR, discharging him as a suspect in the assassination of lawyer Shar. In addition to asking for bail in the case, he requested the Balochistan High Court (BHC) to reverse its decision dismissing a similar plea.
