ISLAMABAD HIGH COURT GRANTS IMRAN KHAN PROTECTIVE BAIL TILL THURSDAY

Mon 22 August 2022:

In a terrorism case filed against him for “threatening” a female judge and top police officials during a public rally, the Islamabad High Court granted Imran Khan protective bail till Thursday (August 25), The Dawn reported.

The ex-prime minister was booked on Sunday under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (punishment for acts of terrorism) regarding his comments at his Islamabad rally on Saturday.

Imran’s lawyers, Babar Awan and Faisal Chaudhry, filed a petition in the IHC earlier today requesting pre-arrest bail on his behalf.

Awan informed the judge that an objection pertaining to approaching the relevant forum was raised on the plea. Justice Kayani remarked that an objection pertaining to biometrics was also raised.

During the proceedings, Awan claimed that Imran’s Banigala residence had been “surrounded” and that “he cannot even approach the relevant court”. He urged the court to grant Imran protective bail so that the relevant forum could be approached.

“If the court wants to use its authority to grant pre-arrest bail, it’s your jurisdiction,” he added.

Justice Kayani observed that the relevant forum was the anti-terrorism court and ruled out the possibility of the IHC granting Imran pre-arrest bail at this point.

The court then approved Imran’s protective bail till Thursday and directed him to approach the relevant court by then.

However, Awan pleaded with the court to extend the bail by one more day. He contended that three days’ time was not sufficient.

At that, Justice Kayani said, “I will appoint a special judge and issue an order for approaching the relevant forum within an hour.”

The petition

The petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, stated that Imran was a “target of the ruling PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) for his fearless criticism, and extremely bold and blunt stance against corruption and corrupt politicians”.

“And to achieve this malicious agenda, acting in a most unfortunate and clumsy manner, a false and frivolous complaint has been registered against him by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police at the behest of the incumbent government,” it added.

The plea further 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”.

The government, in an illegal effort to settle a political score, has decided to “illegally and unlawfully victimise” the petitioner, it said, adding that the government had registered 17 FIRs against Imran.

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.

Moreover, the plea highlighted that the FIR was registered after an “unexplained inordinate delay of 24 hours”. “The contents of the FIR reflect that the alleged offence is not made out. The case in hand is of further inquiry”.

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, which created “serious doubt in the prosecution story”.

It went on to say that Imran was a respectable citizen and “a sheer apprehension of his imminent arrest would cause humiliation and unjustified harassment”.

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

The petitioner has an unblemished track record and has never been implicated in any criminal activity, the plea said, adding that he was ready to join the investigation as and when required.

The petition said that Imran was also ready to furnish a “solvent surety bond” when required.

The state was nominated as the respondent in the plea. However, it is not yet clear if the petition has been accepted for hearing.

The FIR

The FIR against Imran was registered at Islamabad’s Margalla police station at 10pm on Saturday under the complaint of magistrate Ali Javed.

The FIR argued that Imran’s speech was meant to “terrorise” top police officials and the judiciary so they could not perform their functions and abstain from pursuing any action against any PTI-related individual if required to do so.

The magistrate argued that Imran’s speech had spread fear and uncertainty among the police, judges and the nation. “Terrorism has been spread the country’s peace has been harmed,” he added.

The FIR requested that legal action be pursued against Imran and an “exemplary punishment” be meted out.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent