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PremiumFormer Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared before the Islamabad High Court on May 12th, after being detained in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust land deal case and indicted in the Toshakhana corruption case.
However, the Supreme Court declared his arrest to be "illegal" and ordered his release on May 11th, as they ruled that no one can be arrested from inside the court premises.
"The manner of execution of the arrest warrant issued by the Chairman, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) dated 01.05.2023 in the Al-Qadir Trust case within the premises of the Islamabad High Court against petitioner is invalid and unlawful," the court's order stated, as per news agency PTI.
The head of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms body on 12 May said, as quoted by the Dawn that internet services have been fully restored on order of PM Shehbaz.
“If problem persists, please report to PTA," he adds.
Speaking on Geo News show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, DG Maj-Gen Ahmed Sharif said: “I want to say very clearly that Gen Asim Munir and the senior army leadership under him wholeheartedly support democracy and will keep doing so. There is no question of martial law."
“Alhamdulillah. He is accompanied by a large number of party workers and supporters. Along the way, thousands of workers are also present at motorway interchanges and in Lahore to express solidarity with their leader," PTI tweeted.
Mobile broadband has been restored across Pakistan after a three-day closure, reported reuters, quoting the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority.
JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad, said, as quoted by The Dawn: “There is hooliganism and terrorism being carried out in the whole country and the court is protecting that terrorism."
Adding more, he said, "“The army chief’s headquarters is attacked, the corps commander’s house is attacked … the way state defence institutions are being disrespected, is the court for their security [or not]?"
Senator Azam Swati has hailed the decisions of the Islamabad High Court to grant bail to former prime minister Imran Khan, reported The dawn.
A state-imposed social media blackout to quell massive protests around the arrest of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has instead fuelled momentum for him, analysts say.
Moments after Khan was detained by a swarm of paramilitary Rangers on Tuesday, the interior ministry restricted nationwide access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
But Khan's supporters quickly found workarounds, leaving social media awash with calls for protest and shaky handheld clips of thousands of demonstrators clashing with police.
The move was a "crass miscalculation" by authorities, according to Shahzad Ahmad, director of digital rights organisation Bytes for All. "It's only going to work against them."
-AFP
The court also barred authorities from arresting him in any case registered in the jurisdiction of Islamabad after May 9 till May 17.
Islamabad High Court bars authorities from arresting Imran Khan till May 17 in any new case, reported Pakistan's Geo News
A High Court in Islamabad has granted the former Prime Minister bail and protection from arrest in a graft case and ordered him freed on bail.
Khan, however, remained in the court after the decision as his lawyers petitioned the judges for similar protection in a number of other corruption charges, trying to close off a legal avenue for the government to arrest him again.
Islamabad High Court has granted bail to PTI chief and former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan in Al-Qadir Trust case for 2 weeks, according to Pakistan's Geo News
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secretary general Asad Umar has challenged his arrest in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises, ARY News reported on Friday.
A close aide of Imran Khan, Asad Umar challenged the arrest under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
Asad Umar contested his MPO arrest before the Islamabad High Court through Babar Awan and Amna Ali. Respondents in the plea include the Secretary of the Interior, the IG of Police, and others.
According to reports, a team of Lahore police has left for Islamabad to arrest Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan in a number of cases registered against him in Punjab province, according to a media report on Friday.
The police team is headed by the deputy inspector general (investigation), the Dawn newspaper reported.
It was reported that the joint investigation team probing cases against Imran has informed the Islamabad High Court that it seeks the arrest of the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
PTI lawyer Babar Awan claimed that a police team from Lahore has left for Islamabad to arrest Khan in “new cases".
Marred in controversy and a barrage of criminal charges, former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan on Friday said that he fears, he will geta arrested as soon as he leaves the High Court in Islamabad.
The lahore resident had been arrested by Pakistan Rangers, which was nullified by the Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday citing it as ‘illegal’.
"There is a fear that I will be arrested again as soon as I leave the High Court," says PTI chief Imran Khan, reports Pakistan's Samaa News
A special bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday briefly adjourned the hearing on Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan bail plea in a graft case amid slogan shouting by a lawyer in the courtroom, according to media reports.
Khan, 70, arrived at the court shortly after 11:30 am local time amid tight security and underwent the biometric identification process and other formalities, PTI reported.
Dawn News reported that Imran’s lawyers had filed four additional requests which urged the IHC to club all the cases against Imran and to direct authorities to provide details of the cases registered against him.
Khan was arrested from the premises of the IHC on Tuesday in the Al-Qadir Trust case after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) issued an arrest warrant against him.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived at an Islamabad court on Friday under heavy security cover as his supporters clashed with the security forces elsewhere in the city, broadcaster Geo TV reported.
Television footage showed heavily armed paramilitary troops and police outside the court as Khan was brought in a motorcade of nearly a dozen vehicles.
Geo said supporters of Khan clashed with police elsewhere in the city as police cleared roads for his convoy, Reuters reported.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday issued a stay order on the indictment of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, ANI reported citing ARY News.
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan appeared at court for a bail hearing on Friday, after the Supreme Court ruled unlawful his arrest this week that triggered deadly clashes across the country, AFP reported.
"Your arrest was invalid, so the whole process needs to be backtracked," Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial told Khan at a hearing in the capital Islamabad on Thursday.
Pakistan police imposed an emergency order banning gatherings in Islamabad as supporters of Imran Khan were expected to march to the capital on Friday where the former prime minister will appear for a court hearing under heavy security cover, Reuters reported.
Another alleged audio clip purportedly featuring Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and party leader Musarrat Jamshed Cheema emerged on Thursday, wherein both apparently discussed his Tuesday's arrest and related case hearing at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), reported Dawn.
Human Rights Watch reported on Thursday that Pakistani police used excessive force and opened fire on demonstrators following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges on May 9, 2023.
"Thousands of peaceful Pakistanis from across the country will gather at Srinagar Highway G-13 Islamabad this morning to express solidarity with Chairman Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan. After appearing in the Islamabad High Court, Chairman Imran Khan will address this place," Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tweeted.
On May 11th, the Supreme Court declared the arrest of Imran Khan, Chairman of PTI, in the Al-Qadir Trust case to be "illegal," marking a significant legal triumph for the party. The court ordered authorities to release him without delay.
The US State Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel on Thursday raised concern over human rights and press freedom issues in Pakistan.
He said that the US is closely monitoring the developments in Pakistan, adding that the issues of human rights and press freedom were raised, as reported by ANI.
The Pakistani government expressed its disapproval of the Supreme Court's decision to release former Prime Minister Imran Khan from custody and promised to explore alternative methods to arrest him, indicating that the conflict that has caused unrest throughout the nation is ongoing.
Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the top court was ignoring the attacks on military and government property by Khan’s supporters.
Pakistan police imposed an emergency order banning gatherings as supporters of Imran Khan were expected to march to the capital on Friday where the former prime minister will appear for a court hearing, as reported by Reuters.
His arrest earlier this week, which sparked deadly unrest in the nuclear-armed nation, was ruled "invalid and unlawful" by the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Two senior leaders of Imran Khan's party were arrested on Friday as the Pakistan government launched a crackdown on the opposition party amidst the worsening political turmoil in the country following the former prime minister's arrest in a corruption case, PTI reported.
Shireen Mazari, a former federal minister for Human Rights, was arrested from her house.
Her arrest comes after a series of arrests of several other PTI leaders, including Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry.
The Biden Administration stated that it will keep a close eye on the situation in Pakistan but reiterated that it does not favor any specific candidate over another.
"We continue to monitor the situation in Pakistan closely, and as the US has said before, we don't have a position on one candidate or one political party versus another. What our interest is a safe and secure, prosperous Pakistan. That is in the interest of the US-Pakistan relations, and we call for the respect of democratic principles and the rule of law around the world," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is all set to appear before the Islamabad High Court today, Friday, May 12, for pre-arrest bail amid tight security as his party (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) announced a rally on the occasion and asked supporters to gather nearby the court for the leader's address.
In its written order issued late at night, the top court said, “The manner of execution of the arrest warrant issued by the Chairman, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) dated 01.05.2023 in the Al-Qadir Trust case within the premises of the Islamabad High Court against petitioner is invalid and unlawful."
During the hearing, the court remarked that since Imran Khan had surrendered to the high court where he was present to secure pre-arrest bail in the case, the entire process should start from the same point where it was interrupted by his arrest.
