Islamabad, May 12: In a temporary relief to Imran Khan, a special bench of the Islamabad High Court on Friday granted him protective bail for two weeks in a corruption case and ordered that the former Pakistan prime minister should not be arrested till May 17 in any case registered after Tuesday.
The bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz heard the Al-Qadir trust corruption case, a day after the Supreme Court termed Khan’s dramatic arrest from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises on Tuesday as “invalid and unlawful”.
The court in its order also stated that the former premier should not be arrested in any case, registered after May 9, till May 17. The bench also ordered the authorities to provide ‘foolproof security’ to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief. Khan is expected to return to his Bani Gala residence.
In another case, the IHC judge Justice Tariq Mehmood Jehangiri conducted the hearing in the Zile Shah murder case and after arguments, the court accepted Khan’s protective bail in the case till May 22. Shah was a PTI supporter and was killed in violence in March when police raided Khan’s Lahore residence to arrest him.
The IHC’s decision to grant Khan a two-week reprieve from arrest came hours after he warned of countrywide unrest if he was arrested again.
Khan, 70, arrived at the court amid tight security and underwent the biometric identification process and other formalities.
The hearing was delayed for nearly two hours due to security reasons.
Earlier, the two judges left the courtroom amid pro-Khan slogan shouting by a lawyer. The upset judges later announced that the hearing will resume after Friday prayers.
Dawn News reported that Khan’s lawyers had filed four additional requests which urged the IHC to club all the cases against the PTI chief and to direct authorities to provide details of the cases registered against him.
Khan was arrested after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) issued an arrest warrant against him.
The Al-Qadir Trust corruption case is about the setting up of Al-Qadir University for Sufism in the 2019 Sohawa area of Jhelum district of Punjab.
Khan is accused of looting Rs 50 billion from the national treasury in the case.
The former prime minister, along with his wife Bushra Bibi and other PTI leaders, is facing a NAB inquiry related to a settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon.
In an informal interaction with journalists during the hearing break, Khan said that he will not resist if his bail plea is rejected.
Khan maintained that he was “abducted” and was shown the warrant for his arrest while in custody.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday questioned the Supreme Court’s granting of relief to its “ladla” Imran Khan, saying its “double standards” have led to the death of justice in Pakistan.
“When he (Imran) was presented in court yesterday, the CJP said it is good to see you. And, he said this in a case of corruption,” he said.
“If you want to keep favouring this ladla (pampered), then you should also release all the dacoits behind bars in the country. Let this be free for all,” he said while addressing the federal Cabinet on Friday.
Describing Khan and his party as “liars”, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday slammed the Opposition for pushing the cash-strapped country towards “destruction”. (PTI)
