On March 29, 2023, an Islamabad court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in connection with a case related to alleged threats made to a judge. The court has directed the authorities to present him before the court on April 18.
This development comes after the last hearing on March 24, in which the court converted the non-bailable arrest warrant issued for Imran Khan into a bailable warrant at the request of PTI while hearing a case registered against the former premier for allegedly using threatening language against Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry and Islamabad police officials.
During the hearing on March 29, prosecutor Rizwan Abbasi appeared in Judicial Magistrate Malik Aman’s court, while Imran Khan was represented by his counsel Faisal Chaudhry. The prosecutor objected to Imran Khan's absence, stating that his warrants should be changed from bailable to non-bailable as he failed to appear before the court.
The prosecutor further pointed out that Imran Khan's request for exemption from attendance had been granted in each hearing and cited the judge's statement from the last hearing, which stated that Imran Khan's warrants had been issued due to his persistent absence from the proceedings. The prosecutor also objected that the former premier's signature was not on the request for exemption from attendance, but rather it was just signed by his lawyer.
After hearing the arguments, the judge announced the verdict, directing the authorities to take Imran Khan into custody and present him before the court on April 18.
Previously, on March 13, Senior Civil Judge Rana Mujahid Rahim had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Imran Khan in the same case, which were later challenged by PTI in the district court. Imran Khan, through his counsel, had contended that his arrest warrants issued on March 13 were against the facts and law, as he couldn't appear in person on the given date due to health issues and threats to his life. The judge had noted that issuing warrants was the court's discretion to ensure the former premier's attendance and he might be asked to submit surety bonds.
The case dates back to August 2022 when Imran Khan had condemned the police and the judiciary over the alleged custodial torture of Shahbaz Gill and announced that his party would file cases against then-Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Akbar Nasir Khan, the DIG, and Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry. Initially, Imran Khan was booked under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). Besides, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) also initiated contempt of court proceedings against him.
A month later, the IHC removed the terrorism charges against Imran Khan and also pardoned him after he tendered an apology in the contempt case. However, a similar case, filed after the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against him for threatening the judge, is pending before the sessions court.
No comments:
Post a Comment