Lahore: Imran Khan appeared before a Pakistani court here Friday seeking protective bail in nine cases, hours after another top court suspended non-bailable arrest warrants against the ousted premier till March 18.
Khan, the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, has been resisting arrest in the Toshakhana case and is holed up inside his Zaman Park residence here surrounded by hundreds of his supporters, who have fought pitched battles with the police and Rangers over the past few days.
Khan, former prime minister, travelled to the Lahore High Court (LHC) in a bulletproof vehicle to seek protective bail in nine cases.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Farooq Haider will conduct the hearing on bail pleas filed against the cases that are lodged under terrorism sections, while Justice Saleem will also hear the bail pleas that he filed against the civil cases registered against him, according to Geo Tv.
Earlier, the Islamabad High Court suspended non-bailable arrest warrants issued against Khan till March 18, providing him with a chance to appear before the district court hearing the Toshakhana case.
Khan has skipped several hearings in the case.
Judge Iqbal Monday re-issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khan and directed the police to bring him to court by March 18.
However, when the police reached Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore to arrest him on Tuesday, they were met with resistance, leading to two-day pitched battles between PTI supporters and law enforcement agencies.
The clashes ultimately subsided after the courts intervened on Wednesday.
Ahead of the hearing in LHC Friday, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that both parties had “agreed to resolve the issues” and the agreed solution will be presented in court.
Khan has been in the crosshairs for buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch he had received as the premier at a discounted price from the state depository called Toshakhana, and selling them for profit.
Established in 1974, the Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign dignitaries.
According to Khan, he was facing over 80 different cases in various courts across Pakistan.
Khan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China, and Afghanistan.
Since his ouster, Khan has been asking for early elections to oust what he termed an “imported government” led by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Sharif has maintained that elections will be held later this year once the parliament completes its five-year tenure.
PTI
