Imran seeks details of all new FIRs

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has approached the Lahore High Court (IHC) requesting it to direct authorities to provide him a fresh report containing details of all the criminal cases registered against him on or after May 9, the day when he was arrested from Islamabad.

The PTI chairman has also requested the court to order authorities not to arrest him in any case without prior permission of the court. He has nominated Punjab inspector general police (IGP) and the State through Punjab advocate general as respondents in the plea.

In the petition moved through Imran’s counsel Barrister Salman Safdar, the former premier has contended that more than 100 politically motivated and unlawful first information reports (FIRs) have been lodged against him alone.

“All [this] amounts to grave violation of the petitioner’s rights under Articles 4, 9, 10-A and others and consequently through the instant petition, the petitioner seeks the protection of this court from the most audacious assault on the fundamental rights launched by an executive of this country…

“[This assault is launched] in furtherance of the most constitutionally abhorrent objective: to prevent or delay elections required by the Constitution in order to ensure that the largest political party in Pakistan may be prevented from participating or winning such elections,” it said.

Read Imran claims 'hit on head' during arrest on May 9

He said extraordinary nature of the attack on fundamental rights of the party workers and leaders—their rights to life and liberty, fair trial, dignity and privacy of home, movement, assembly, association, speech and equal treatment guaranteed under different articles of the Constitution means that the intervention of this court is required in order to protect and enforce the said rights and the rule of law.

“The petitioner’s [Imran Khan’s] political struggle has always been to establish democracy and equity of law in the country and to eliminate the menace of corruption,” he noted.

The PTI chief contended that he, his party’s top leadership and workers had been subject to victimization at hand of the ruling parties who registered false cases against them

He said he had been granted bails in all cases, while he had approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for a pre-arrest bail in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation when NAB authorities “attacked” the biometric office at the IHC and illegally and unlawfully arrested the petitioner.

“Around hundred security personnel attacked the biometric room vandalizing and ransacking the room in the court premises in order to execute a warrant of arrest reportedly issued by the NAB authorities.”

He requested the court to order authorities to submit a fresh report containing details of all the criminal cases registered against him on or after May 9, the day when he was arrested from Islamabad.

 “The petitioner has learnt that a number of criminal cases have been registered against the petitioner and there is a strong apprehension that [he] may again unjustifiably be arrested in mentioned undisclosed new criminal cases registered on or after May 9, 2023,” he added.