PTI Chairman Imran Khan Monday secured transit bail for three days till August 25 after he filed a pre-arrest bail application with the Islamabad High Court earlier to avoid arrest in a terror case filed against him last Sunday night. A first information report (FIR) was registered against Imran under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for threatening an additional sessions judge and senior officers of the Islamabad police at a rally in the federal capital’s F-9 Park. PTI lawyer Faisal Chaudhry and Babar Awan had filed the plea on Imran’s behalf, who maintained in the plea that Imran was ready to appear before the court whenever summoned. The plea stated that Imran Khan had no criminal past record had never been convicted for any offence. “There is no chance of fleeing or damaging evidence presented by the prosecution. Imran Khan is also ready to submit money as surety against his bail,” the plea stated. However, the IHC registrar’s office had raised three objections to the plea, which are as follows:
n Imran Khan did not undergo bio-metric verification before filing the plea.
n He approached IHC instead of the relevant ATC court.
n He didn’t provide a verified copy of the terror case.
But when Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Babar Sattar heard the case, they granted Khan transit bail till August 25, overruled the registrar office’s objections, and asked Khan to approach an anti-terrorism court (ATC) by August 25 – as it is the relevant forum in the case. During the proceedings, Awan claimed that the Banigala residence had been surrounded and that Imran Khan could not 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 were 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.”
Meanwhile, the interior ministry has sought written permission from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office to arrest Khan following the registration of the case. A media report quoting sources said Imran had left his Bani Gala residence to avoid arrest and it was being reported that he might have left for Lahore or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, PTI leader Faisal Vawda said Khan was still at Bani Gala.
Meanwhile, additional police force has been deployed outside Imran Khan’s Bani Gala residence and the road leading to his residence has also been closed for unauthorised people, allowing only people close to him and the residents of the area to enter. “Negotiations with Imran Khan are under way, as the PTI leader wants to avoid arrest or house arrest,” said the sources adding that the authorities had multiple plans to handle the situation with the help of law-enforcement agencies, but were waiting for a green signal from the quarters concerned. “Imran Khan is seeking the facility to approach the higher judiciary for obtaining relief, but he will have to surrender before the police as the first step,” the sources added. The FIR registered against Khan states that he threatened Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry and police officers at a rally in F-9 Park to “terrorise” police officials and judiciary. The main aim of the intimidation was to prevent the police officers and judiciary from carrying out their legal obligations, says the FIR. The FIR was registered on the complaint of Magistrate Ali Javed in Islamabad’s Margalla Police Station under Section 7 of ATA.
