ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court on Monday granted Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan preventive bail from arrest in a case involving protests by his supporters outside the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan last year.
A case on terrorism charges was filed against the ex-PM last October after his followers took to the streets outside the office of the election commissioner in Islamabad after Khan was barred from holding public office by the top election tribunal, which said he was guilty of not declaring assets earned through the sale of gifts from foreign dignitaries and heads of state.
The ruling led to supporters protesting in the streets in different cities, blocking roads and highways and setting tyres on fire, including outside ECP offices. A terror case was then filed, in which a court had granted Khan pre-arrest bail last year but summoned him on multiple occasions. The PTI leader failed to appear, citing medical grounds on account of injuries received in an apparent assassination attempt.
On Monday, however, the court gave Khan a final deadline to appear in person.
“In order to establish the supremacy of the constitution and law in Pakistan, Imran Khan did not care about his life or health, but appeared before the honorable judiciary,” his party said on Twitter.
“In the interest of justice, we are inclined to grant him ad-interim anticipatory bail protective in nature until March 3,” the court’s notification on Monday said.
The hearing ended a long day of drama, in which Khan’s convoy faced difficulties in reaching the courtroom due to a large number of lawyers and supporters gathered along the way. He was finally able to emerge from his car at 730pm despite entering the LHC premises around 6pm and made his way to the courtroom alongside senior PTI leaders Fawad Chaudhry, Asad Umar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Azam Swati.
Social media was flooded with videos of Khan's convoy being showered with rose petals as it headed to the Lahore High Court. There was heavy police deployment at the main gate of the building.
