Imran Khan again fails to show up at JIT

Law stipulates that no lawyer can be quizzed in place of the suspect

ISLAMABAD:

PTI chairman and deposed premier Imran Khan on Sunday again did not appear before the joint investigation team (JIT) probing into the case registered against him under section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) at the Margalla police station in Islamabad.

Police sources say that after the interim bail secured by Imran by the court, the PTI chief himself had to be involved in the investigation.

They added that nowhere in the law was it written that his lawyer should be involved in the investigation instead of the suspect.

The sources further said it was a legal requirement that Imran should have appeared before the JIT, but by not doing so, he had not cooperated in the investigation.

The courts grant interim bail in a case only so that after that the suspect is involved in the investigation, the police do not detain them.

A senior investigator of the federal police told The Express Tribune that he had served in the investigation department for 35 years

“During this period, it has never happened that the central suspect in a serious case has not been involved in the investigation after securing interim bail,” he added.

According to law, no lawyer could be interrogated in place of the suspect.

The police will present their position in this regard to the court.

A source within the JIT told The Express Tribune that the report of Imran’s deliberate lack of cooperation in the investigation would be presented in the court.

The source added that the court would be requested to order the suspect to be included in the investigation because this legal process was inevitable for the case to be proceeded forward.

On the inquiry of The Express Tribune, the source said now it also depended on the court what it ordered in this case as the suspect was also an important political leader.

The JIT had summoned the PTI chief at 6pm on Sunday.

The head of the JIT, SP Investigation Wing Rukhsar Mehdi, and other members of the team waited for him till 8pm.

This was the second notice sent to the ex-premier.

The notice was issued in a case lodged against him for threatening Additional and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry and senior cops during a rally.

The Islamabad High Court had also asked the former prime minister to ensure that he cooperated with the police in the case’s investigation.

Although the PTI chief did not appear before the JIT, he had submitted a reply to it on Friday through his lawyer, maintaining that because of political rivalry, the “imported government” had his aide Shahbaz Gill arrested and tortured in custody.

He had added that whatever he had said in his speech neither fell under the category of terrorism nor was it his intention to say it.

The terrorism case pertained to his controversial remarks about judge Zeba and the Islamabad police.

“Listen Director Inspector General [of police], we’re not going to let you go, we’re going to file a case against you. And madam magistrate you should also get ready, we will take action against you,” the PTI chief had told his supporters during a rally in support of Gill last month.

Gill was arrested last month on sedition charges after he urged soldiers to disobey orders from military leaders.

The PTI chief, in his statement, had claimed that he had not carried out any illegal act that would spread chaos. He had added that he was innocent and the case should be dismissed. In his speech, Imran stated that he had urged to take legal action against those involved in illegal activities.

An FIR was registered against the PTI chief on August 21 under the ATA for threatening the judge and senior police officers of the Islamabad police at a rally in the federal capital’s F-9 Park.