ISLAMABAD: In a major legal victory for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case has been declared “illegal” by the Supreme Court and authorities have been ordered to release him “immediately”.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC), the same court that deemed the PTI chief’s arrest legal, has sent him to the Police Lines Guest House and ordered him to appear before it by tomorrow, setting the precedent that no one will be detained inside the walls of a court.
An hour past the scheduled time, at around 5:40 p.m., the authorities brought the PTI leader before the three-member bench. The hearing then continued, and Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and Khan exchanged a few words before the order was given.
The decision was applauded by PTI, which has been on the rampage for the past two days, and the government disapproved of the move. PTI’s protests have caused conflicts with the police across the nation, resulting in the deaths of several people.
The three-member bench — headed by CJP Bandial and comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar — issued the verdict on PTI’s petition challenging Khan’s arrest.
The petition was filed after the capital’s high court declared his arrest legal on May 9 (the day he was arrested), despite expressing dissatisfaction over the manner of the arrest.
“It is good seeing you,” CJP Bandial told Khan when he was presented before the three-member bench, and also asked him to “condemn” the violent protests that took place as a result of the arrest.
‘I just want free and fair elections’
In response, the PTI chief, through the media present in the courtroom, forwarded a message to his supporters that they should refrain from damaging public and private property.
“I don’t want any loss in the country nor do I wish for people to get incited. I just want free and fair elections,” the PTI chief told the court, pleading with the court that despite his responding to the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) notices, he was arrested.
In response to the court’s question about whether he knew what was going on in Pakistan, Khan — who became the first prime minister to be ousted from office through a no-confidence vote in April last year — said his mobile phone was taken away and he was unaware about what was happening in the country.
Then the PTI chief requested the CJP to send him home, but the top judge said he was not going to do that and assured him that he would “remain at peace at the Police Lines Guest House”.
“You can stay there, talk, rest, and then present yourself before the Islamabad High Court tomorrow,” CJP told Khan. The CJP then directed authorities to allow Khan to meet as many as 10 people — including his lawyers, friends, and family members.
