ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan left for Lahore after spending over 11 hours in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as he was stopped by the police under the pretext of security clearance even after getting bails from the court in all the cases against him.

The police stopped the PTI chief from leaving the premises of the court after some bullets were fired in adjacent areas of the IHC, as well as, a protest by PTI workers on Srinagar Highway.

In the beginning, a meeting between the PTI chairman and Inspector General Islamabad Police Nasir Akber failed as the latter refused to allow his convoy to exit the court premises under the pretext of security clearance.

However, Khan was allowed to go home within a few minutes he issued a video message to the media and urged his supporters to get ready for peaceful protests across the country as he accused the ruling government of forcibly keeping him inside the court premises despite getting bail in all the cases.

“I want my people to get ready for peaceful protests all over the country as I’m being forcibly kept inside the court despite getting bail in the cases…this regime is not ready to accept the court’s order and it is not acceptable,” he added.

In the same breath, he said “I’m illegally being detained for the last three hours inside the court despite getting bail in all the cases”. With this, Khan drove off as a free man in convoy of his jubilant supporters.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023