Pak Ex PM Imran Khan gets bail in Zaman Park violence and ‘hate speech’ cases
BNITIMES.COM / Bureau News / Editor Vishal Sharma / 16 May 2023 06 :50
The Islamabad High Court has granted bail to Imran Khan till June 8, 2023, in cases registered against him. Khan was also granted bail by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) till May 19, in a case related to violence outside Zaman Park and another case in connection with Zile Shah’s murder.
Imran Khan on Tuesday was granted bail till June 8, 2023, in cases registered against him. The bail to Khan was granted by the Islamabad High Court.
The cases against the former Pakistan prime minister were registered in reference to the statement he gave against state institutions.
PAKISTAN’S ANTI-TERRORISM COURT GRANTS BAIL TO IMRAN KHAN
Meanwhile, the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Tuesday granted bail to Imran Khan till May 19, in a case related to violence outside Zaman Park and another case in connection with Zile Shah’s murder.
The ATC also accepted Imran Khan’s request to excuse him from being present for the hearing today.
Earlier today, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had reserved the verdict on Imran Khan’s petition seeking bail in all cases registered against him in Punjab province, following his arrest in a corruption case last week that sparked violent protests by his supporters.
Imran Khan filed the plea on Saturday, a day after being released on bail from Islamabad High Court (IHC).
At the outset of the hearing, the court inquired about the absence of Khan.
Responding to the query, Khan’s lawyer said that he would appear before the court by 11 am.
The lawyer representing Punjab’s interim government opposed the bail plea contending it was inadmissible.
“Imran Khan hasn’t even appeared in the court and is seeking protective bail,” the lawyer maintained
At this, Khan’s lawyer argued that the PTI chief was seeking pre-arrest bail and not protective bail. He requested the court to send the case to a larger bench.
“I am being politically victimised. There is a risk of arrest as police have nominated me in several cases,” the plea stated.
The PTI chief has made the Punjab inspector general and advocate general respondents in the case.
The Punjab police on May 10 booked Khan and hundreds of his party workers for attacking and setting on fire the Corps Commander House in Lahore besides registering five other FIRs against him for inciting his supporters to attack and damage the state buildings and military installations.
Khan and his deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others have been framed under murder, terrorism and 20 other heinous offences for attacking the senior military commander’s house known as ‘Jinnah House’ in Lahore Cantonment last Tuesday.
The arrest of Khan on Tuesday by the Pakistan Rangers at the IHC premises triggered unrest in Pakistan that continued till Friday and led to several deaths and dozens of military and state installations being destroyed by the protesters.
For the first time in Pakistan’s history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and also torched the corps commander’s house in Lahore.
Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan’s party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel.
Last week, the PTI chief got interim bail in six cases registered against him for torching the house of the Corps Commander Lahore and other incidents of violence erupted after his arrest.
Khan returned to his Lahore home on Saturday after having locked himself in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises for hours for fear of re-arrest despite being granted bail on Friday.
