Imran Khan reached Islamabad High Court for anticipatory bail

Islamabad: A day after Pakistan’s top court termed the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan as “illegal”, Khan Friday moved the Islamabad High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a corruption case amid tight security. Khan (70) was arrested from the Islamabad High Court complex on Tuesday in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case and was remanded to eight-day National Accountability Bureau (NAB) custody by an accountability court in the corruption case. His arrest by paramilitary Rangers triggered massive protests across Pakistan, leading to the deployment of the army in Islamabad as well as in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. His arrest was upheld by the High Court, but in a major relief to Khan, the Supreme Court on Thursday termed his arrest as “illegal” and ordered his immediate release. It directed the police to keep Khan under the protection of the Supreme Court and produce him before the High Court at 11 am.

The Supreme Court, during the hearing, said that since Khan had surrendered before the High Court, where he appeared for anticipatory bail in the case, the entire process would start from where he was interrupted by his arrest. Khan reached the court today amid tight security. A large number of police and rangers officers were seen deployed outside the court premises and barbed wire was seen in front of the entrance. In footage outside the high court, several lawyers were seen raising slogans in solidarity with Khan.

Earlier, Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a message asked its supporters to reach the G-13 area, not far from the High Court complex, for Khan’s speech at 10 am. It said that the party leaders can make speeches before appearing in the court as they are not sure of getting relief from the high court. The Islamabad police issued a statement late on Thursday saying that Section 144 was still in force in the capital and requested political activists not to “obstruct the legal process”.

He tweeted that ‘we request those who called for demonstrations in Islamabad tomorrow not to disturb the peace.’ He said that legal action would be taken against those who incited the public. The Supreme Court had also ordered the Islamabad Police to make proper arrangements for the security of former prime minister Khan. On Friday, two senior leaders of Khan’s party, including former federal minister Shireen Mazari, were arrested. Mazari’s daughter and lawyer Iman Hazir Mazari shared a video on Twitter in which men in plain clothes are seen forcibly entering the former minister’s house to arrest him.

Earlier, several top PTI leaders including Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhary, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ali Mohammad Khan and Senator Ejaz Chaudhary have been arrested. All these leaders, except Khan, have been arrested under Section 3 for maintenance of public order. According to Khan’s party, former Punjab health minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid has also been arrested. The former prime minister appealed to his supporters to remain calm after two days of widespread violence.