An anti-terrorism court (ATC) of Islamabad on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in a case pertaining to a protest outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Judge Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan of the ATC announced the verdict.
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Earlier, the court had directed the PTI chief to appear before it by 1:30pm as it rejected his plea to grant an exemption from personal appearance.
The court remarked that they could not allow an exemption for Imran Khan due to a bullet injury.
The judge said that if a such facility was extended to any suspect, it would set a bad precedent.
Imran gets partial relief from high court
The complications for the former premier did not end here as a banking court in Islamabad also rejected his appeal seeking exemption from personal appearance in the prohibited funding case.
The court directed Imran to appear before the court before the day end.
This came after the court had previously issued a final warning to Imran Khan for appearance.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the special prosecutor argued that Imran Khan never joined the investigation until now and that his medical report did not justify immunity.
Hence, the court rejected Imran Khan’s application for exemption and summoned him before the day end.
However, he remained lucky as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a stay order against the banking court’s decision on the petition challenging the verdict.
A two-member bench of IHC comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri heard Imran Khan’s petition.
The high court barred the banking court from deciding on ex-PM’s bail plea till February 22.
Imran’s counsel argued that the bail was obtained on October 17, 2022, while an assassination attempt on the former premier was made on November 3.
He said that they requested immunity six times after the incident and two times before it.
The counsel argued that since Imran was 70, his wounds take time to heal while saying that the ex-PM never hesitated to appear before the court.
He said that the medical grounds were real and before everyone.
