ISLAMABAD: The high court of Islamabad has approved the protective bail of Imran Khan, two days after a junior judge in the capital issued an arrest warrant for the former prime minister in a co-called contempt case.
The September 30 warrant relates to remarks Khan made regarding a magistrate and chief of Islamabad police during a public rally in August. At the rally, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party apparently warned judge Zeba Chaudhry and Akbar Nasir Khan, the inspector general of Islamabad police, of legal consequences over what he described as a “biased” attitude towards Shehbaz Gill, his chief of staff.
He had earlier said he “might have crossed a line” in his criticism of Chaudhry and was willing to apologise.
On Friday, a civil court issued the warrant hours after the former prime minister submitted an affidavit in the contempt case. The document, however, surfaced only on Saturday, hours after Maryam Nawaz, vice president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, asked the government to arrest Khan.
Soon after the news broke out, thousands of people came out on the roads across Pakistan to protest. Demonstrators formed a human chain around his Bani Gala residence in Islamabad.
عوام عمران خان کے ساتھ ہے!! #کپتان_ہماری_ریڈ_لائن pic.twitter.com/sCeD10hOL5
— PTI (@PTIofficial) October 1, 2022
Subsequently, on Sunday morning, he filed a petition with the high court through his counsel Babar Awan.
In his plea, the former prime minister said that a terrorism case was initially filed against him, however, the charges were later struck down by the court and the case was transferred to a junior court.
He alleged the government had filed a false case against him, the purpose of which was to quash the “peaceful’ campaign against the “corruption mafia”. According to the plea, the purpose of the case was to arrest Khan in order to put an end to a “peaceful political movement”.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani took up the petition and following the proceedings, barred police from arresting Khan. He approved Khan’s bail against the submission of surety bonds worth Rs10,000.
The court also directed Khan to appear before the concerned court before Friday.
Khan has been holding massive rallies across the country to try and force early elections, alleging that his government was toppled by a foreign conspiracy backed by the United States for his warm relationship with Russia and for visiting Moscow on the day President Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine.
