Terrorism case: Imran Khan gets pre-arrest bail till August 25

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted pre-arrest bail to former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan till August 25 in a terrorism case.

According to details, the court relaxed some of the objections raised by the IHC Registrar on the bail petition as the court approved his pre-arrest bail for three days.

During the hearing, the Islamabad High Court ordered Imran Khan to appear before the concerned anti-terrorism court on August 25. Until then, the court said, police must not arrest him.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani took up the petition and asked what objections were raised on it. To which Babar Awan said an objection pertaining to approaching the relevant forum was raised on the plea.

Justice Kayani said an objection pertaining to biometrics was also raised. Awan claimed that “Imran’s residence has been surrounded and he cannot even approach the relevant court”.

The petition

Imran’s lawyers, Babar Awan and Faisal Chaudhry, filed a petition seeking pre-arrest bail on his behalf in a terrorism case registered for ‘threatening’ a female judge and senior police officers in a public rally.

The petition stated that Imran was being targetted by ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for being blunt against corruption and corrupt politicians.

The plea alleged that the government had decided to “cross all limits” to arrest Imran “under false accusations” and was “hell-bent to sort out the petitioner and his party at all costs”.

It further said the most recent FIR against was “politically motivated”, in which Imran had been “falsely” involved with “mala fide intention and ulterior motives to humiliate” him.

The plea contended the case was based on “surmises and conjectures” and that no evidence was available on record against Imran in connection with the case. It also contended that there was no “direct or indirect” evidence available on record against Imran in the case.

It stated that there was “no likelihood” of Imran absconding or tampering with prosecution evidence if granted protective bail.

It should be noted that a terrorism case was registered against Imran Khan for using derogatory language and threatening Additional Session Judge Zeba Chaudhry in his speech in Islamabad on August 20.

Sources say that the text of the PTI Chief’s August 20 speech has also been included in the FIR.

Imran Khan, addressing a PTI rally in Islamabad, had said that they would file cases against Inspector General Islamabad Police, Deputy IG Islamabad Police and magistrate Zeba Chaudhry for the torture of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill.