ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court on Thursday rejected former prime minister Imran Khan’s plea to suspend his non-bailable arrest warrant, with the development coming two days after violent clashes between his supporters and law enforcers in Lahore.
Sessions court judge Zafar Iqbal had issued the non-bailable warrant following Khan’s repeated absence from previous hearings of the Toshakhana reference, involving the sale of state gifts given by foreign leaders while Khan was prime minister. Khan aides say he does not attend court hearings due to security threats.
Police arrived on Tuesday outside Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore with a court-issued order to arrest him, unleashing two days of clashes with supporters who said they would not allow their leader to be taken into custody. While Khan alleges police brutality took place, the Punjab government says his supporters pelted stones and threw petrol bombs at law enforcers.
On Wednesday evening, the Lahore High Court (LHC) halted the police operation to detain the ex-PM until 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, and the Islamabad High Court (IHC) said the former premier needed to approach the sessions court to have his warrant suspended.
“The court has rejected the request of Imran Khan to suspend his non-bailable arrest warrant,” Judge Zafar Iqbal said while announcing the sessions court’s decision.
Iqbal said the court has given a detailed decision after listening to all stakeholders involved, adding that Khan’s non-bailable arrest warrant remained intact.
“Keeping in view, past order development of issuance of non-bailable warrant of arrest and act and conduct of the applicant, the warrant may not be canceled just on the basis of his undertaking,” the written decision, a copy of which is available with Arab News, said.
“In the light of the discussion, it is concluded that the application is not justified by law as well as fact which is hereby rejected,” the detailed decision stated.
The IHC had permitted the court to make a decision in accordance with the law, the decision said, adding that the Inspector General of Islamabad Police had provided a list of injured police officers and also provided the court with images of the resistance police in Lahore.
“Keeping in view the law and order situation created by the applicant, he has lost some of the normal rights branded by the procedural as well as substantive laws and he has to actually surrender before the court due to his defiance of the court process,” the decision stated. It added that such an eventuality was never appreciated by the court and it was regarded as willful default.
“Law is equal for powerful and weak segments of the society and it is not fun to tender such an undertaking after causing a great loss to the public exchequer as well as damage to the persons and properties,” it added.
In another case of threatening a female judge, additional session judge Faizan Haider Gilani extended the suspension of Khan’s arrest warrant till March 20. The judge demanded that final evidence for permanent suspension of the warrant be presented by next Monday.
In a one-page decision, the judge stated that Khan’s lawyers did not appear in court at the appointed time as they were occupied with similar cases in another court, and upon his lawyer’s request, the case would be decided at the next hearing.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court (LHC) halted the police operation to detain the ex-PM until Friday, as various courts in the country look into appeals against the warrants out for Khan.
Pakistan’s election commission found Khan guilty in the Toshakha case last October. A criminal inquiry is now underway, and if convicted, Khan faces being barred from holding public office, a huge setback with a national election scheduled for late this year.
Apart from the Toshakhana reference, the ex-premier has been booked in over 70 different cases on various charges, including blasphemy, terrorism, and sedition, which carries the death penalty in Pakistan. He has appeared in court in other cases. Khan says the cases against him are politically motivated which the government denies.
On Thursday, Islamabad police registered four new cases against Khan and his close aide, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, as well as dozens of party supporters over Thursday’s clashes, adding to his already deep legal woes.
Khan was ousted from power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence last April and has since held rallies and protest marches to ask the government to announce snap national elections. The government says polls will be held on schedule late this year.