Pakistan: Imran Khan gets anticipatory bail by Islamabad HC till Aug 25 in terror case

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been granted anticipatory bail for three days till August 25 in a terror-related case which was filed against him on Sunday, August 21. According to local media reports, the bail was granted to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman after he filed a pre-arrest bail application in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to evade the arrest in the case. In accordance with the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Khan for threatening an additional sessions judge and top Islamabad Police officers during a rally in the Fatima Jinnah Park, also known as F-9 Park, located in Islamabad, Geo News reported. 

The former Prime Minister, who was represented by PTI attorneys Faisal Chaudhry and Babar Awan, stated in the plea that he would be available to appear before the court whenever summoned. The plea claimed that Khan has neither any prior criminal history nor has been convicted for any offence ever. “There is no chance of fleeing or damaging evidence presented by the prosecution. Imran Khan is also ready to submit money as surety against his bail,” the plea stated, as per Geo News. 

The division bench of IHC considered Khan's plea

The IHC registrar's office has, however, brought up three issues with the plea. It stated that Imran Khan was not subjected to biometric verification before filing the plea. The IHC registrar's office further stated that he directly moved to IHC instead of going to the relevant Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) court, and that the PTI chairman also failed to provide a verified copy of the terror case. Notably, Khan's plea was considered by the division bench of the IHC, which included Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Babar Sattar.

Interior Ministry seeks Imran Khan's arrest

It should be noted here that the country's Interior Ministry has sought written permission from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's office to detain Khan after the complaint was filed against him. According to reports, the PTI chairman has left his home in Bani Gala to avoid an arrest.

Imran Khan became the first PM in Pakistan's history to be ousted via a no-confidence motion on April 11 after 174 Members of the National Assembly voted against him. However, he refused to back down on his "foreign conspiracy" charge and addressed massive rallies across Pakistan demanding the ouster of the Shehbaz Sharif-led government.

Image: Facebook/@Imran Khan/Shutterstock