Imran remanded for 10 days over May 9

LAHORE:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Punjab’s provincial capital on Monday remanded former prime minister Imran Khan in police custody for 10 days while hearing various May 9 related cases in which the PTI founder was arrested a day earlier.

According to the law, police have to present an accused in court within 24 hours after arrest. However, on Monday, Imran Khan, who is currently detained at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, attended proceedings in the court of ATC Administrative Judge Khalid Arshad through WhatsApp video.

At the start of the proceedings, the court inquired why the PTI founder was not being presented in court. In response, the government lawyer cited security reasons, adding that this was documented in a supplementary report.

The former PM’s lawyer, Advocate Azhar Siddique, argued that there was no recorded order specifying that Imran Khan could not be presented personally.

Usman Riaz, another lawyer in Imran’s legal team, argued that the law clearly states that the accused must be presented before the relevant court within 24 hours of arrest. This procedure was not being followed, he said, adding that a transit remand could be obtained to present the PTI founder in the ATC.

The judge remarked that a hearing could proceed if the government issued a notification.

Imran’s lawyer agreed but stated that the court would have to go to Adiala Jail, asserting that the government was attempting to mislead the court into illegal actions.

During the hearing, the prosecutor claimed that Imran Khan’s lawyers were trying to pressure the court. In response to the prosecutor’s accusation, the PTI founder’s lawyer protested, stating that the court had listened to them with patience and that the accusation was baseless.

After a brief recess, prosecutor Muhammad Azhar requested a 30-day physical remand for Imran Khan in connection with 12 cases related to May 9 incidents. The prosecutor argued that voice matching, polygraph tests, and photogrammetric tests needed to be conducted.

Investigation officer Muhammad Ashraf from the Jinnah House case stated that for security reasons, the PTI founder could not be presented personally. The Punjab government had issued a notification for his appearance via WhatsApp video call, he added.

The government lawyer presented the notification indicating that the accused’s appearance should be completed via video link due to law and order situations.

The PTI founder’s lawyer contended that this notification was limited to jail trials or jail hearings, arguing that the prosecution’s notification was not genuine and unacceptable, asserting that the original notification should be included in the court file.

Later, the government lawyer requested 30 minutes to produce the original notification.

Imran’s lawyer emphasized the need to follow the law, stating that custody could not be granted based on assumptions. The presiding judge acknowledged this point for further consideration.

Lawyer Azhar Siddique requested the discharge of Imran, citing a recent Lahore High Court (LHC) judgment. He said Sanam Javed was discharged in similar cases, arguing that all the audio and video evidence had been addressed by the LHC.

Advocate Azhar Siddique concluded that the intent was solely to target the PTI founder and ban the party, using the court as a means to achieve these goals.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its decision, which was announced shortly afterward. Judge Khalid Arshad accepted the police’s request, granting a 10-day physical remand for the PTI founder, though the police had sought a 30-day remand.

The court dismissed the request by Imran’s lawyers to discharge him from the cases.

Qureshi Indicted

The same ATC on Monday also indicted PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a case of torching Shadman Police Station during the May 9 riots. Qureshi—who served as the foreign minister during the PTI’s rule—was produced to the Lahore court from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

During the proceedings, the judge read a charge sheet against the PTI leader, who pleaded not guilty and expressed his intent to contest the charges. The court later adjourned while summoning the prosecution witnesses to record their statements at the next date of hearing—July 18.

The copy of the charge sheet had already been given to the accused at the last hearing. Shadman police had registered a case against Qureshi and others after an attack on May 9, 2023.

As Qureshi was in Lahore, he could not attend proceedings of another ATC in Rawalpindi hearing a similar case accusing the former foreign minister and a number of other PTI leaders of abetting and planning attacks on military installations and memorials after the May 9, 2023, arrest of the PTI founder.