Big relief to former PM Imran Khan, High Court granted exemption from arrest till May 31

islamabad (Best Hindu News): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has extended till May 31 its order staying the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan in cases registered after May 9. .

A bench of the IHC had last week accepted Imran’s bail plea for two weeks in the Al-Qadir Trust case, a day after the Supreme Court termed his arrest in the case as “illegal and illegal”. This gave Mr Khan immunity from arrest till May 17 in any case registered in Islamabad after May 9, the day of his arrest.

Mr Khan’s lawyer Barrister Gauhar represented him in the court on Wednesday. During this, Additional Attorney General Munawar Dugal, Advocate General of Islamabad Jahangir Jadoon and Public Prosecutor were also present.

The case was heard by Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb. The government’s counsel requested the court for more time to furnish details of the cases filed against the PTI chief. The court accepted the request and adjourned the hearing till May 31. Along with this, the period of exemption from arrest of Mr. Khan was also extended till May 31.

Earlier today, several journalists chose to boycott the hearing organized by Justice Aurangzeb. The decision has been taken in response to Justice Aurangzeb’s purported directive to limit journalists to five in the court.

Dawn.com’s correspondent along with several others was today denied hearing in a matter relating to the bail of the former Prime Minister. On enquiry, the deputy registrar of the court revealed that the judge had issued an order allowing only a maximum of five journalists to be present in the courtroom. As a result, the journalists decided to boycott the hearing conducted by Justice Aurangzeb.

Typically, the IHC allows around 30 journalists to attend proceedings related to PTI chief’s affairs, while in other cases there is no specified limit on the number of people present.

Significantly, Mr. Khan was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau on May 9 from the IHC premises. He was arrested in connection with several FIRs lodged in the Al-Qadir Trust case. The PTI chief was arrested when he was on his way to IHC for his biometric verification.

Following his arrest, PTI supporters blocked roads in cities across the country, including the capital Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi, injuring several people and causing significant damage to public property.