Eight bail pleas by Imran listed for hearing

LAHORE:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore has fixed for hearing former prime minister and PTI founding Chairman Imran Khan's eight bail pleas, which had been pending for four months.

An application, submitted on behalf of Imran, was accepted by ATC judge Manzar Ali Gill.

The application stated that the former premier had been a victim of unrelenting wave of political victimization over the past few years, leading to his implication in several criminal cases, including eight anti-terrorism cases registered at five police stations under the jurisdiction of this court.

It added that the post-arrest bail petitions of the applicant in these cases have been pending adjudication before this court since July 30, 2024, but remain undecided to date.

It highlighted that one of the reasons for the delay in disposing of the bail petitions was that this court remained vacant for 50 days following the transfer of presiding officer Khalid Arshad on Sept 4, 2024 until the joining of the current presiding officer on Oct 24, 2024.

The recently filed petitions were fixed for hearing on Nov 8, 2024 but were adjourned due to the unavailability of counsel. The court then rescheduled the bail petitions for Nov 30, three weeks after the previous hearing date.

The application stated that such inordinate and excessive delay in hearing post-arrest bail petitions was causing distress, underscoring the need for their timely adjudication.

ATC judge irked

In other cases, the absence of Imran Khan's sisters and other PTI leaders irked ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gill, who warned that the bail pleas would be dismissed if the accused failed to appear in court on the next hearing.

The ATC judge expressed displeasure after the defence counsels sought exemption for the accused from appearing in court.