Imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s legal troubles are far from over as local courts in Islamabad have rejected nine of his bail pleas in cases pertaining to the violent protests on May 9.
According to a report by Dawn, the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad have rejected three bail petitions, while Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Mohammad Sohail rejected six petitions seeking pre-arrest bail as Imran Khan is unable to appear in court due to his imprisonment in the Toshakhana corruption case.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman was seeking bail from the ATC judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain in cases registered against him in two separate police stations. ADSJ Sohail maintained that he was not entitled to pre-arrest bail since he was already jailed.
However, ADSJ Sohail extended the interim bail of Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi till September 7 in connection with the Toshakhana case and advised her to cooperate with the investigation team.
Bushra Bibi’s visit to Attock Jail
The former First Lady of Pakistan again met Imran Khan on Tuesday in Punjab province’s Attock jail where he is serving his jail sentence after his conviction in the Toshakhana graft case. Khan’s legal team was reportedly denied access again to the PTI chief.
Bushra Bibi reached Attock jail with a team of her husband’s lawyers, but was stopped by the police after some time. After approval from jail authorities, she was allowed to visit the jailed ex-PM but not his legal team. Sources said that Khan and his wife spoke for over an hour in the room of the deputy superintendent of police.
Meanwhile, the ATC Judge extended the bail of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Quershi in a case registered against him for inciting violence, and summoned the two members of the joint investigation team along with the record of the case.
On May 9, the supporters of Imran Khan’s party vandalised over 20 military installations and government buildings, including the Lahore Corps Commander House, Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time.
The violent protests came in wake of Khan’s arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on corruption charges. He was later released on bail. Police arrested over 10,000 workers of PTI and more than 100 are being attempted tried under the Army Act.