In the hate speech case, the BHC suspended Imran’s warrants.
PTI president gets temporary reprieve from jail from Judge Kakar for a period of two weeks.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan’s non-bailable arrest warrants were suspended by the Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Friday for a period of two weeks in connection with a case involving the delivery of hate speech against public institutions.
Former premier’s plea was heard by Judge Zaheeruddin Kakar. The involved parties received a notice from Judge Kakar ordering their attorneys to produce the affidavit at the subsequent hearing.
About the first information report (FIR) that had been filed against him in Quetta, Imran had contacted the BHC.
It was contended in the petition that the “case against the PTI chairman has been lodged illegally”, seeking the court to “dismiss the case filed at the Bijli Road police station of the provincial capital”.
On the occasion of the submission of the motion to drop the case against the party chairman, the legal team of the ousted premier and provincial PTI President Qasim Khan Suri were also present.
An FIR was filed against Imran earlier this week after a citizen complained that he had used hate speech against government institutions.
On the basis of a complaint from Khalil Kakar, a resident of Nawa Killi, the FIR was filed against Imran. The Balochistan police were reportedly on their way to Lahore to apprehend the ousted prime minister.
Similar FIRs had been filed against PTI leaders Azam Swati and Shahbaz Gill on charges of insulting government institutions. The high court later quashed the cases, though.
A squad of Islamabad police had also travelled to Lahore on March 5 with court orders to arrest Imran, but the PTI leader managed to avoid capture.
Imran had later filed a petition with a district and sessions court to have the arrest warrants revoked. The Sessions Court Judge, however, had denied his appeal and affirmed the warrants.
The non-bailable arrest warrants issued against the PTI leader by a district and sessions court in the Toshakhana (gift repository) matter were later suspended by the Islamabad High Court till March 13.
