ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) extended interim bails for 10 more days to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in seven different cases registered against him.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb on Thursday heard the bail petitions in different cases including the judicial complex riot case. The bench also directed him to appear before the relevant court within this period.
A single bench of Justice Aamer also extended Khan’s bail in two cases including the mutiny case for five days.
The cases were registered against the PTI chairman at Golra, Bhara Kahu, Ramna, Khanna, and the CTD police stations after the police accused the PTI chief and party workers of being involved in attacking police and creating unrest outside the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) in Islamabad during the hearing of the Toshakhana case on March 18.
During the hearing, Khan’s counsel Barrister Safdar said that 140 cases have been registered against his client till today and they have requested bail in all the cases that were in their knowledge. He added that it is his client’s right to know if there is any secret FIR.
The counsel mentioned that Khan had gone to the FJC earlier to secure bail but a security situation had arisen and after that, more cases were filed, for which, the PTI chief had approached the courts as well.
The chief justice said that they had said that the court would give them protection to approach the concerned court but they did not join the investigation yet. He added that the bench had repeatedly said that it would only provide protective bail.
Imran’s counsel contended that all the cases were made on political bases and a heavy contingent of police were present outside. He said that the government wanted that his client appears before seven different investigation officers in seven cases. He further said they are ready to record the statements for these seven cases right now.
The IHC CJ said that his client is present in Islamabad right now and the investigation officers are also here and he may record the statement today. He added that this statement will not be recorded by only submitting a paper. He directed him to follow the procedure determined for recording a statement by police.
The advocate general (AG) objected to the medical report submitted by Imran saying that it was from a private hospital, which is unacceptable.
At this point, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhary appeared on the rostrum and complained that his party chief came to the court in an injured condition yet he was not allowed to bring his vehicle inside the court’s premises.
The AG said that motorcycles and cars were set on fire when Imran appeared at the FJC. The court expressed its disapproval of Fawad’s continuous intervention in the court’s proceedings.
After that chief justice extended Imran’s bail in mutiny and attempted murder charges cases until May 9.
Justice Aamer said that Imran had submitted a plea seeking exemption from court appearance. He noted that a government hospital’s report should have been attached to it.
The AG assured the court that the government would provide him with access to a hospital of Imran’s own choice. He informed the court that the petitioner is saying that 140 cases have been filed against him but they may tell if a single case was filed in Islamabad that is not genuine.
Khan’s counsel reiterated his claim of ill-intended cases being made against his client, saying that the criminal cases were registered by wrongfully using state machinery.
The IHC chief justice directed the petitioner to first join the investigation and if they ever have to seek an exemption from attendance for medical reasons, do so but legally, a private hospital’s medical report is not accepted.
The AG said to the court that it is giving [Imran] relief in a sweet atmosphere. The IHC CJ asked him so what else should it do? The advocate general said to tell one case that was “false”.
At this point, Imran’s counsel asked the court for a 12-day extension in Imran’s bail. The court noted that a petition pertaining to attending court hearings via a video link was under hearing and that the court had asked the special prosecutor for legal documents related to the case. The advocate general assured the court that the state would provide foolproof security if the petitioner would appear for investigation.
Later, the court extended Imran’s interim bail till May 9 and issued notices to the respondents in the case filed at Ramna police station. The court also directed Barrister Safdar to submit documents related to the case of attending hearings via a video link.
Talking to the journalists, Khan said that he has informed the five-member bench at Lahore High Court about the person who can harm him and if he tells his name, none of the newspapers will publish it. He accused the person of running the caretaker government.
In response to a question regarding his meetings with American diplomats, he said that they want good relations with every country. He added that they want friendly relations with every country but did not want to be the slave of anyone.
Criticising Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s trip to India, Khan said that Kashmir is not an issue for them. In this way, he added that they had accepted what India did on August 5, 2019.
In response to another question related to action against corrupt officials, he said that he would take action in accordance with the law. He added that the cases against him are increasing rapidly and soon the number of cases would touch the double-century mark.
Responding to yet another question regarding his government’s talks with the Taliban, the PTI chief stated that negotiations were continued with the Afghan government on how to send members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) back to Pakistan. He added that the former army chief and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief were also present at the meeting.
Khan further said that his tenure then came to an end but he repeatedly warned of the arrival of the Taliban and added that prior to the PTI’s removal, they were having a dialogue regarding the rehabilitation of TTP members in Pakistan. Regarding the reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, he asserted that the case came from above and maintained that later, they understood that the reality of the matter was different.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023