Ajit Karn
Lahore: Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, was granted protective bail by the Lahore High Court on Monday in a case involving violent protests outside the election commission. The hearing took place amidst intense drama inside the courthouse, where hundreds of Imran Khan’s supporters had gathered to show their support for him.
After Khan’s disqualification from running for office in the illegal funding case last year by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), supporters for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf violently protested.
Khan was required to appear in court to have his protective bail motion heard by Judge Tariq Saleem Sheikh.
According to a court official, the PTI chairman was granted protective bail till March 3 by a two-member LHC panel chaired by Judge Ali Baqar Najafi.
“Khan stood before the court and informed the judge that although he had intended to do so last week, physicians had recommended him to take it easy until his leg wound had healed, which would take more than two weeks. As a defender of justice, he said that he has always respected the legal system. He claimed that his party’s name also contains the word “justice,” “added the official.
Khan received praise from Judge Najafi for complying with the law. The judge barred the police and any other agency from detaining him and granted him protected bail until March 3.
After Khan appeared in court and was granted protected bail in the case in which he was charged with terrorism, the PML-N government’s intention to have him arrested was thwarted.
Under orders from the federal coalition government, a team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and police were stationed at the courthouse to arrest Khan in the event that his bail request was denied.
This was Khan’s first court appearance since being shot during an attack on his rally in Punjab province in November of last year.
The path from Khan’s Lahore home to the LHC was clogged with thousands of Khan’s party workers, making him travel a 10-minute trip in more than two hours.
When it entered the LHC grounds, Khan’s car was showered with rose petals, and a sizable PTI crowd was screaming slogans in favour of Khan and against the PML-N-led coalition government.
Khan arrived at the court’s location, but due to a PTI worker mob, he was unable to enter the courtroom in the allotted 90 minutes. About 7:15 p.m. (local time), Khan exited his car wearing a blue salwar kameez and entered the courtroom under tight security.
There were tens of thousands of people outside the LHC, and security measures were minimal.
Several PTI supporters who were gathered outside the court yelled slogans in favour of Khan and the judiciary after learning of his protected bail.
In an earlier hearing of Khan’s protective bail plea in the case involving protests outside the ECP, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted him one more opportunity to appear in court on Monday.
On February 15, an Islamabad anti-terrorism court denied Khan’s request for an extension of his interim release in a case involving violent demonstrations outside the ECP on the grounds that he had failed to attend.
Also read: Church, Dinner, and a Secret Trip to Kiev on US President Biden’s Weekend
Intriguingly, the authorities charged Khan on terrorism-related charges despite the fact that he was not present at the protest rally outside the ECP headquarters in Islamabad.
After an attempt on his life was attempted on November 3 in Wazirabad, Khan has been staying in his Zaman Park home in Lahore.
