IHC temporarily prevents banking court from cancelling Imran's bail

Grants PTI chief relief until Feb 22 on medical grounds after banking court rejects plea

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday prevented a banking court from cancelling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan's bail and granted him relief until February 22.

The PTI chairman's legal team had moved the high court against a decision passed earlier today by a banking court whereby the former premier was ordered to appear before the court at 3:30 pm today.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri conducted the hearing where Imran's lawyer sought relief from the high court in a prohibited funding case under a banking court in Islamabad.

Read ECP asks Imran to submit reply in removal from PTI leadership case

"The interim bail was obtained on October 17, and the Wazirabad incident happened on November 3," said the lawyer, adding that the PTI leader had sought leave from the court twice before the incident and six times after it.

"Are you saying that 70 is an advanced age?" Justice Kayani inquired smiling.

Imran's lawyer maintained that at this age, wounds take longer to heal and stressed that the ousted prime minister "never shied away from appearing before courts, but now the medical grounds are for all to see".

The court requested a copy of the PTI chief's medical report and prevented the banking court from announcing its verdict until February 22.

Meanwhile, at the banking court, the judge was informed of the development at the IHC and after a brief recess postponed the hearing.

"I have confirmed," the judge explained, "we have been prevented from announcing the verdict" and adjourned the hearing till Saturday.

A certified copy of the IHC ruling is to be submitted to the banking court by February 18.

Banking court rejects exemption plea

Earlier today, the banking court in Islamabad rejected Imran's plea for exemption from appearance and ordered him to appear before the court by 3:30pm.

Banking court judge Rakhshanda Shaheen heard the case of prohibited funding against Imran Khan and others.

During the proceedings, Imran Khan's lawyer Barrister Salman Safdar appeared before the judge alongside PTI leaders Shibli Faraz, Azam Swati, Faisal Javed, Senator Saifullah Niazi, Aamir Kayani and others.

At the outset of the hearing, the judge ordered all media persons and other personalities to leave the courtroom, except for the lawyer and the petitioner.

Read More PTI approaches IHC against ECP's prohibited funding case verdict

Barrister Safdar submitted a request for Imran's leave of absence on medical grounds to the court.

After the judge observed that Imran's legal team has challenged her previous order in the high court, Imran's lawyer said that if she would listen to their appeal "and give relief on the matter" then the high court case would not be pursued.

"You have challenged my order, so by all means pursue it," she remarked.

Barrister Safdar urged the court to keep "an open mind".

"Imran Khan is over 70 years old," the lawyer argued adding that he was still recovering from a bullet wound on his leg, and urged the court to grant him another three weeks' time.

The lawyer also said that should the court reject the request, it would have to provide in writing that "our medical report is incorrect, and that Imran Khan was not shot".

He also stressed that Imran was presently not in the capital and expressed fears that if the ousted premier's bail is cancelled then he will be arrested.

Later, the co-accused PTI's financier Tariq Shafi's lawyer began presenting his arguments but the court prevented him from doing so.

Also Read Imran fails to appear before ATC in ECP protest case

"You are giving an irrelevant argument," the judge said, "this is a case concerning bail. I will not give any other observations, it will remain a bail case".

Meanwhile, special prosecutor Rizwan Abbasi opposed Imran's request for exemption from appearance.

Once the special prosecutor's arguments were completed, the judge dismissed Imran's request for leave and ordered him to appear before the court.

It may be noted that previously, the PTI chief had secured bail in the case registered under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act in October last year.

However, the bail is now to be cancelled if the PTI chief fails to ensure his appearance in court today (Wednesday).

According to sources, the PTI's legal team has contacted Imran Khan and it maintains that it will not be possible for the PTI chief to appear before the court today.

The case

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had booked PTI leaders including party chairman Imran Khan, the party’s financial team and a private bank manager in the prohibited funding case.

The case was lodged by FIA Commercial Banking Circle Islamabad.

According to a first information report (FIR), the former ruling party leaders have violated the Foreign Exchange Act and they were declared as the beneficiaries of suspicious bank accounts.

The FIA claimed that Abraaj Group also transferred $2.1 million to the bank accounts of the PTI.

Also Read ECP asks Imran to submit reply in removal from PTI leadership case

The agency kicked off its probe against the PTI in August this year after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had declared in its verdict that the party had indeed received illegal funding.

The case had been filed by PTI's founding but disgruntled member Akbar S Babar and had been pending since November 14, 2014.

The written order of the ECP stated that the political party had received illegal funds from foreign countries, including the US, UAE, UK and Australia.

The PTI chief on the other hand had maintained that the FIA ​​had misused its authority to register the case in haste and that the case was registered on the basis of the ECP report which is contrary to facts and biased.