ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad district and sessions court on Monday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan in a case pertaining to issuing threats to a woman judge and senior police officers, local media reported, as the ex-premier continues to face legal battles across the country.
Khan had criticized the woman judge, Zeba Chaudhry, in an impassioned speech during a rally at Islamabad’s F-9 park on August 20, 2022. The public gathering was held to protest his chief of staff’s arrest.
At the rally, the ex-premier promised his supporters he would not “spare” the Islamabad inspector general and deputy inspector general of police, adding his party would also “take action” against Chaudhry, who had remanded Gill in police custody.
At Monday’s hearing, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed a petition, requesting an exemption from personal appearance for the former premier, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
Senior Civil Judge Rana Mujahid Rahim issued a warning that non-bailable arrest warrants could be issued for the former premier if he failed to appear before the court today, but Khan’s counsel contended after a brief recess that in-person appearance of an applicant was not “mandatory” in the acquittal plea.
“Judge Rana Mujahid Rahim has instructed the police to arrest the former prime minister and present him before the court by March 29,” the Dawn report read.
Announcing the verdict, the judge said the court would hear arguments on Khan’s petition seeking to dismiss the case in the next proceedings.
Khan was initially booked under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) in the case over his threatening remarks, while the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had also initiated contempt-of-court proceedings against him.
Later, the IHC dropped the terrorism charges against Khan and pardoned him after the former premier tendered an apology in the contempt case.
But a similar case, filed after the registration of a complaint against him for threatening the judge, was pending before the sessions court, according to the Dawn report.
Khan, who was ousted from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April last year, has been facing more than 70 cases, including the ones on charges of prohibited funding, terrorism and attempted murder.
Last Monday, another court in Islamabad issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khan over his continuous absence in a case involving the sale of gifts Khan received as the prime minister, which has come to be popularly known as the Toshakhana (state repository) reference.
