Court issues bailable warrant for Imran in threatening judge case

Former premier's counsel asks court to send warrants to Zaman Park, not Bani Gala

ISLAMABAD:

A district and sessions court in Islamabad issued another bailable warrant for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Tuesday in the case of the former premier threatening a woman judge during a public speech.

During the hearing, prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi informed Judicial Magistrate Malik Aman that the court had summoned Imran in person and highlighted that his petition for exemption had been rejected.

The prosecutor urged the court to issue a non-bailable arrest warrant, as bailable warrants had been issued in the past. He questioned if other accused individuals were given the same treatment as Imran.

Abbasi stated that appeals were filed on behalf of the former premier for the warrants but he had not appeared before the court in person.

Imran’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry told the sessions court that several bail pleas in various cases were underway before the Islamabad High Court (IHC). He contended that the PTI chief could not walk properly due to the bullet injury on his leg, and added that the court had to ensure his security.

The judge stated that Imran’s petition to be exempted from appearing before the court had been rejected, to which the lawyer said that a new plea must be filed.

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The report of the implementation of the warrant was submitted to the court, with Imran’s lawyer Ali Bhukhari informing the court that Imran no longer resided in Bani Gala and that his warrants should be served to his Zaman Park residence instead.

Later, the lawyers also filed a request for Imran’s exemption from today’s hearing.

After hearing the arguments, the court issued a bailable warrant for Imran and directed the PTI chief to submit surety bonds worth Rs 20,000.

The court further instructed the concerned authorities to send the warrant to Zaman Park. The hearing was adjourned till May 25.

The case against the former prime minister was registered on August 20, 2022, with Margalla police station in the federal capital over his remarks at a rally in F9 Park where he warned Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry and police high-ups of dire consequences for what he called their “biased” attitude towards his party.

Imran alleged that Judge Zeba knew that incarcerated party leader Shahbaz Gill was tortured, but she did not release him on bail. The former premier was booked in a terrorism case on the complaint of Islamabad Saddar Magistrate Ali Javed for threatening the additional sessions judge.