Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to appear in Lahore High Court on Monday for a hearing on his request for bail in a case involving violent protests outside the election commission. Activists from Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) conducted the protest after the 70-year-old Khan was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last year over a funding ban.
The Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad denied Imran Khan’s request for an extension of his bail in a case related to violent protests outside the ECP. Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh has been assigned the hearing of this case.
Islamabad’s Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) judge, Raja Jawad Abbas, said that Imran Khan was given ample time to appear in the court but still did not. Meanwhile, his attorney Babar Awan had urged the court to grant a one-time exemption for in-person personal appearance, as Khan had not recovered from a gun wound from the previous year.
The judge reportedly denied the request and ordered him to appear, giving the reason that the court could not grant any such relief to an ex-Prime Minister as Khan, which cannot be given to the common man. Ultimately, the judge refused to extend bail leaving the cricketer-turned-politician vulnerable to police arrest.
The PTI leadership urged party officials to promote protests across the country, including close to the ECP, after Khan was disqualified for hiding details of party funding.