Imran gets granted bail in the terrorism cases against him.
In the NAB call-up notices, the LHC has also granted bail to the PTI chief.
Imran Khan, chairman of the PTI, has been granted protective bail by the Lahore High Court in two different cases. In the first case, two First Information Reports (FIR) have been filed against him on grounds of terrorism, and in the second, two National Accountability Bureau (NAB) call-up notices have been given to him for various investigations. Two division benches of the court, one presided over by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and the other by Judge Baqar Ali Najafi, granted the protection bails.
In a contempt petition filed by Imran against a breach of the terms of reference (ToRs) during the Zaman Park operation at his residence that the local police, provincial administration, and PTI leadership had agreed upon, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh also issued notices, requesting responses from the Punjab chief secretary and IGP by March 28.
Justice Sheikh requested the full record from the federal law office along with an affidavit by March 22 in order to consider another petition submitted by PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry requesting information on the cases brought against Imran and other party officials.
The judge further prohibited the government from using coercion against Imran and other leaders until the information was presented to the court.
Imran’s attorneys Azhar Siddique and Barrister Salman Safdar objected to the court as the hearings got underway regarding the police breaking the ToRs after making a commitment to the court.
They claimed that by carrying out a “illegal” operation at Imran’s Zaman Park home while disguising it as a search warrant, the police had violated the court’s orders.
The PTI leader ascended the podium when he initially appeared in front of Justice Sheikh’s bench and claimed he was hiding before getting to the LHC.
He continued by saying that he had driven a car that nobody had ever seen before.
Imran, who was dismissed as prime minister in April of last year, said that his wife was inside when police forcibly entered the house by smashing the windows and main gate.
He continued by saying that the operation went ahead despite the police hierarchy, the local government, and the PTI agreeing on the ToRs.
The PTI leader insisted that the CCTV cameras set up at his home captured the screams of his family members.
He expressed shock that he was being prevented from going to the courts to obtain bail in the cases against him by police officers.
On one occasion, Justice Sheikh said he would not be kind toward people who ridiculed the judiciary on TV talk shows.
The attorneys also informed the court that although multiple cases had been filed against the PTI leader and other party officials, they were not being given the specifics of those cases.
Imran’s private guards were asked to leave the court during the proceedings by Justice Sheikh, who noted that the police officers present there were sufficient for his security.
The assistant advocate general, however, indicated his lack of confidence in the court and asked the judge to transfer the case to another.
Justice Sheikh was irritated by this and inquired as to which precise element he lacked trust in, adding that the case was already in his court.
If this behavior continued, he threatened to bring about contempt charges.
Judge Sheikh noted that the court has been sending out notices to get the case files.
“We live in the WhatsApp era. You may get the file using WhatsApp,” he continued.
Imran then appeared before a division bench presided over by Judge Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, and he was given protective bail till March 27 in connection with two FIRs filed against him on various allegations, including violating Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
The signatures on the petitions and other documents were scanned, but Imran’s attorney Barrister Salman Safdar informed the court that they originally belonged to his client.
Judge Rizvi ordered the attorney to obtain his client’s original signatures on the petitions, affidavit, and other pertinent documents in response to this.
Judge Rizvi noted that this bench was not hearing proceedings linked to the anti-graft body when the attorney informed the bench about two protective bails in NAB-related matters.
Judge Rizvi said that the appropriate bench would hear the cases.
However, in two FIRs filed against him in the Islamabad police stations of Golra and CTD, the bench granted Imran protective bail.
Imran was required to stay in the same court till his pleas on the NAB’s call-up notices to him were fixed.
Police officers stopped the PTI chief’s car as he drove off to the other division bench.
He was unable to move his car and himself into that courtroom. Imran had to travel on foot to get there.
The NAB issued a call-up notice in response to an investigation it had launched into “misuse of authority; criminal breach of trust; and illegal gain in selling gifted state assets,” and the PTI leader appeared before another division bench headed by Justice Najafi. There, he pleaded for two protective bails: one in connection with the investigation into “misuse of authority; financial gains and criminal breach of t
Safdar, Imran’s attorney, informed the court that a trial and an investigation were both now going on at a different institution.
He did, however, remark that the NAB had abruptly begun looking into the Toshakhana issue as well.
The attorney said that, given the overwhelming number of complaints filed against him, it had become difficult for him to represent his client.
This time, 97 cases had been filed against Imran and other party leaders, he informed the court.
A second attorney for PTI head Azhar Siddique informed the court that his client was close to reaching his “non-cricketing” century in response to this.
Imran wanted to go before the appropriate court in Islamabad, according to the lawyers, but a NAB team was constantly visiting his home in Zaman Park.
Imran was given protection bails through March 31 by the court.
Addressing the podium, Imran said the court that although the elections were set for April 30, his movement had been restricted to the legal system rather than him conducting his election campaign.
He continued by saying that he had no time left after attending court procedures to hand out electoral ballots.
In spite of the PTI leader’s claims that no FIRs had been filed against him in the previous 50 years, 96 had been in the last six months.
A pistol was earlier visible next to Imran’s vehicle as it approached the Justice Sheikh court.
Police officers seized hold of the gun after much commotion.
It was later claimed that it might have belonged to a police officer and collapsed as a result of the mob that had gathered nearby.
However, as Imran stood in front of Justice Rizvi, the attorneys present there abruptly began yelling, claiming there was a contraption behind the courtroom’s doors.
When the authorities gained control of the object, they discovered that it was merely a wireless set.
Eventually, the authorities speculated that it might have belonged to a police officer.
Separately, the Islamabad High Court extended the PTI Chairman’s interim release in a “attempted murder” case till April 6 while granting his motion for exemption from presence.
Despite receiving two reminders, Imran had not yet taken part in the inquiry, according to the state’s attorney in court.
Imran’s attorney Faisal Chaudhry said the IHC that his client was unable to travel to Islamabad because he was too busy appearing before courts in Lahore.
He continued by saying that the case’s investigating officer believed that an in-person statement recording was required.
Chaudhry added that Imran might record his statement once he arrived at the IHC, or the investigating officer could go to Lahore with him for this reason.
Imran’s attorney was instructed to work with the investigating officer to determine how Imran’s statement will be recorded by IHC Chief Judge Aamer Farooq.
In October of last year, PML-N leader Mohsin Ranjha filed a “case of attempted murder” against the PTI chairman.
A day after being assaulted outside the ECP headquarters in Islamabad while PTI workers and supporters were protesting the commission’s decision to disqualify the ousted premier in the Toshakhana case, he filed the case against Imran.
