—— Directs PTI Chief to appear before IHC today
—— Sends him to Police Lines Guest House
—— Ecstatic supporters celebrate top Court’s decision
—— In letter to PM, ‘shocked’ President deplores manner of Imran Khan’s arrest
Staff Report
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 “im-mediately”.
The apex court has sent the PTI chief to the Police Lines Guest House and ordered him to present himself before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) by today, the same court which declared his arrest legal, while also setting the precedence that no person will be arrested within the premises of a court.
Elated supporters of PTI poured into the streets soon after the Supreme Court’s verdict to release party chairman Im-ran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
When the authorities presented the PTI chief before the three-member bench at around 5:40pm — an hour later than ordered — the hearing resumed and there was a short exchange of words between Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and Khan and then the order was issued.
PTI — which has been on a rampage for the last two days and its protests have led to clashes with the police across the country, resulting in the death of several — welcomed the decision, with the government unhappy with the devel-opment.
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), de-spite 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.
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 as-sured 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.
The CJP then told the deposed prime minister to begin a dialogue with his opponents, which will lead to “peace” in the society. “This will be a good move as you have been entrusted with the people’s rights.”
The chief justice noted that Khan should start talks with his political opponents even though he does not like them, adding that there is a need to do this as the narratives on both political ends have become “extreme”.
“230 million are awaiting for their leader to move the boat forward,” he said, also noting that the political divide has become so extreme that his friend informed him that during the ongoing protests, the next house that could be tar-geted could be of the CJP. The CJP told Khan that numerous cases have been lodged against him, to which, the PTI chief that “there aren’t many”.
CJP Bandial, without naming anyone, also told the PTI chief that “they have registered many cases against you you know who I am talking about”. Again, without naming the individual or group, the CJP said: “Even they have rendered many sacrifices.”
In the backdrop of the chaos, Khan then told the bench that a reaction was bound to happen in response to the treatment meted out to him. At this, Justice Minallah asked him not to utter such words and be cautious about what he says in the presence of the media.
Meanwhile, In a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Arif Alvi Thursday deplored the manner in which Imran Khan was arrested inside High Court’s premises.
“I would like to draw your attention to the way Imran Khan was arrested,” the president wrote in the letter two days after the PTI chief was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, which led to widespread deadly protests.
“The people of Pakistan and I were shocked to see the video of this incident. The video shows the abuse of a former prime minister. Imran Khan is a popular leader and the head of a major political party.”
He further added that law enforcement personnel had forcibly entered the Islamabad High Court, while the biometric process of Khan was going on.
