Court reserves verdict on Imran Khan's bail plea in cases registered in Punjab

The Lahore High Court LHC on Tuesday reserved the verdict on Pakistans former prime minister Imran Khans petition seeking bail in all cases registered against him in Punjab province following his arrest in a corruption case last week that sparked violent protests by his supportersKhan 70 had filed the plea on Saturday a day after being released on bail from Islamabad High Court IHCAt the outset of the hearing the court inquired about the absence of Khan the Pakistan TehreekeInsaf PTI party chiefResponding to the query Khans lawyer said that he would appear before the court by 11 amThe lawyer representing Punjabs interim government opposed the bail plea contending it was inadmissibleImran Khan hasnt even appeared in the court and is seeking protective bail the lawyer maintainedAt this Khans lawyer argued that the PTI chief was seeking prearrest bail and not protective bail He requested the court to send the case to a larger benchI am being politically victimised There is a risk of arrest as police have nominated me in several cases the plea statedThe PTI chief has made the Punjab inspector general and advocate general respondents in the caseKhan returned to his Lahore home on Saturday after having locked himself in the Islamabad High Court IHC premises for hours for fear of rearrest despite being granted bail on FridayMeanwhile the IHC extended Pakistan TehreekeInsaf PTI chief Imran Khans bail till June 8 in two cases pertaining to inciting violence and seditionThe IHC had granted 70yearold Khan bail barring the authorities from arresting him in all the cases registered beyond May 9 and asked him to approach the Lahore High Court for further relief on May 15In the Al Qadir Trust case in which the National Accountability Bureau arrested the former cricketerturnedpolitician on May 9 the IHC granted him prearrest bail for two weeksThe Supreme Court had declared Khans arrest from the IHC premises illegal and referred the matter to the IHCThe Punjab police on May 10 booked Khan and hundreds of his party workers for attacking and setting on fire the Corps Commander House in Lahore besides registering five other FIRs against him for inciting his supporters to attack and damage the state buildings and military installationsKhan and his deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others have been framed under murder terrorism and 20 other heinous offences for attacking the senior military commanders house known as Jinnah House in Lahore Cantonment last TuesdayAlso readImran Khanrsquos wife approaches HC in alQadir Trust caseThe arrest of Khan on Tuesday by the Pakistan Rangers at the IHC premises triggered unrest in Pakistan that continued till Friday and led to several deaths and dozens of military and state installations being destroyed by the protestersFor the first time in Pakistans history the protesters stormed the army headquarters GHQ in Rawalpindi and also torched the corps commanders house in LahorePolice put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khans party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnelPunjab Inspector General Police Dr Usman Anwar told a press conference on Sunday that over 3500 people have been arrested in Punjab province for their involvement in the violence that erupted after Khans arrest He said most of them will be tried in antiterrorism courtsKhan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a noconfidence vote in his leadership which he alleged was part of a USled conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia China and AfghanistanThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever