ISLAMABAD: Three days after his controversial arrest plunged Pakistan into turmoil, former prime minister Imran Khan was released on bail on Friday wearing the legal armor of an Islamabad high court order banning government agencies to take it into custody in any case – old or new – until May 15.
The court that granted the 70-year two-week bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case issued a separate order specifying that Imran he cannot be arrested until May 17 in any case registered against him in Islamabad after May 9 when paramilitary forces dragged him away from the high court. The court also granted Pakistani chief Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) a 10-day protective bail in three cases linked to terrorism and another linked to murder registered in Lahore.
General relief for Imran follows until at least the middle of next week Supreme Court calling his arrest “invalid and illegal,” a remark that led Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to argue on Friday that the supreme court was once again favoring his “ladla (blue-eyed boy)” over justice. The supreme court
“When he (Imran) was introduced in court yesterday, the Chief Justice said, ‘It is nice to see you.’ And he said that in a corruption case,” PTI quoted Shehbaz as mentioned when addressing the federal cabinet. “If you want to continue favoring this ladla, then you should also release all offenders behind bars in the country. Let this be free for all.”
Imran’s lawyer, Babar Awan Khan, said the judicial system had righted a wrong, declaring the former prime minister “a free man”.
At the Islamabad High Court, Imran told reporters that, except for one case in which he was “hit on the head” during arrest, officials at the National Accountability Bureau treated him “well”.
Regarding the government blaming him for the rioting and arson that followed his arrest and calling it “terrorism,” Imran said, “How could I stop whatever happened? I already told you there would be a reaction to ‘arrest’.
In a video circulating on social media, Imran said he was “sitting in the high court” when paramilitary troops “kidnapped” him. “They first showed me the warrant when they took me to prison. This happens in the law of the jungle, where the army kidnaps. Where did the police go? Where did the law go?”
Imran said “40 defenseless people” had lost their lives in the government’s crackdown on protesters this week. The official balance is 12.
More than 3,000, including senior PTI officials, were arrested in the wake of mob rage on the streets, including a breach of army headquarters in Rawalpindi. The government has since deployed the military to Islamabad along with Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, both PTI strongholds.
Mobile internet remains suspended and social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have been blocked on government orders.
Following Thursday’s Supreme Court release order asking the High Court to reconsider its initial decision to uphold Imran’s arrest, the former prime minister said spent the night in a government guesthouse in Islamabad. President Arif Alvi, who has been trying to defuse tension between Imran and the government, was one of his visitors, he said.
Since being ousted from office, Imran has waged a stormy campaign for early polls in the country. He accuses senior military and government officials of plotting the November bombing in which he took a bullet in the leg during a demonstration in Wazirabad, Punjab province.
Clock Pakistan: Supreme Court grants bail to Imran Khan in Al-Qadir Trust case
The court that granted the 70-year two-week bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case issued a separate order specifying that Imran he cannot be arrested until May 17 in any case registered against him in Islamabad after May 9 when paramilitary forces dragged him away from the high court. The court also granted Pakistani chief Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) a 10-day protective bail in three cases linked to terrorism and another linked to murder registered in Lahore.
General relief for Imran follows until at least the middle of next week Supreme Court calling his arrest “invalid and illegal,” a remark that led Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to argue on Friday that the supreme court was once again favoring his “ladla (blue-eyed boy)” over justice. The supreme court
“When he (Imran) was introduced in court yesterday, the Chief Justice said, ‘It is nice to see you.’ And he said that in a corruption case,” PTI quoted Shehbaz as mentioned when addressing the federal cabinet. “If you want to continue favoring this ladla, then you should also release all offenders behind bars in the country. Let this be free for all.”
Imran’s lawyer, Babar Awan Khan, said the judicial system had righted a wrong, declaring the former prime minister “a free man”.
At the Islamabad High Court, Imran told reporters that, except for one case in which he was “hit on the head” during arrest, officials at the National Accountability Bureau treated him “well”.
Regarding the government blaming him for the rioting and arson that followed his arrest and calling it “terrorism,” Imran said, “How could I stop whatever happened? I already told you there would be a reaction to ‘arrest’.
In a video circulating on social media, Imran said he was “sitting in the high court” when paramilitary troops “kidnapped” him. “They first showed me the warrant when they took me to prison. This happens in the law of the jungle, where the army kidnaps. Where did the police go? Where did the law go?”
Imran said “40 defenseless people” had lost their lives in the government’s crackdown on protesters this week. The official balance is 12.
More than 3,000, including senior PTI officials, were arrested in the wake of mob rage on the streets, including a breach of army headquarters in Rawalpindi. The government has since deployed the military to Islamabad along with Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, both PTI strongholds.
Mobile internet remains suspended and social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have been blocked on government orders.
Following Thursday’s Supreme Court release order asking the High Court to reconsider its initial decision to uphold Imran’s arrest, the former prime minister said spent the night in a government guesthouse in Islamabad. President Arif Alvi, who has been trying to defuse tension between Imran and the government, was one of his visitors, he said.
Since being ousted from office, Imran has waged a stormy campaign for early polls in the country. He accuses senior military and government officials of plotting the November bombing in which he took a bullet in the leg during a demonstration in Wazirabad, Punjab province.
Clock Pakistan: Supreme Court grants bail to Imran Khan in Al-Qadir Trust case
