ISLAMABAD; An IHC bench comprising Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan granted the PTI chief protective bail in three terrorism cases registered against him in Lahore for 10 days.
During the hearing, the PTI chief told the court that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had warned of arresting him again, saying that there was no rule of law in the country currently.
Earlier, Justice Jahangiri also approved Imran’s protective bail in a case pertaining to the death of Zille Shah — a PTI worker who was killed during a party rally in Lahore earlier this year — for 10 days against surety bonds worth Rs50,000.
In an informal conversation with journalists at the IHC, Imran said that NAB officials treated him “fine” but hastened to add that he was hit on the head while being arrested.
He further said that he was also not able to get in touch with his wife Bushra Bibi. “I asked the NAB team to let me talk [to her]. They let me talk to her on the landline,” he said.
Talking about violent protests in the country, he said, “How could I have stopped whatever happened? I had already told [you] that there would be a reaction to the arrest.
“When I was [taken into custody], then how can I be responsible?” the former premier asked.
In a video shared on social media by Independent Urdu, Imran further said: “I was sitting in the high court. They had no reason to arrest me. I was abducted.
“And there they showed me the warrant for the first time when they took me to jail. This happens in the law of the jungle where the army abducts. Where did the police go? Where did the law go?” he asked.
“The law of the jungle has been instated in the country. It seems as if martial law has been declared,” he said.
“When I reached the court yesterday, I found out for the first time that 40 helpless people have lost their lives in this. I did not even know about this,” he added.
Talking to the media outside the IHC after the break in proceedings due to Friday prayers, PTI lawyer Babar Awan claimed that a police team from Lahore had left for Islamabad to arrest Imran in “new cases”.
“There are two to three people in the incumbent administration who are worried because if Imran Khan is released, their jobs will be in danger,” he alleged, adding that this was why Punjab police had been called to the capital.
Awan reiterated there were threats to Imran’s life, adding that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had also said the same. “Why then are they so adamant to arrest Imran? Let me tell you, any attempt to arrest Imran again will be unconstitutional.”
The lawyer also alleged that “special people” were hired to “hunt” the PTI chief and said that those who sent the ex-prime minister to jail were responsible for the violence in the country.
“Before Imran Khan was sent to jail […] the country’s situation was in front of you. Today, the situation has escalated at the hands of those who were struck out by the Supreme Court […] and that is NAB,” Awan added.