PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday granted transit bail to former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan until June 25 in all 14 cases registered against him in connection with the long march on Islamabad.
After Khan called off his march, he and members of his party were booked in cases registered at police stations across Islamabad over allegations of arson and vandalism in the capital.
Following the complaints, he petitioned the court through his counsel Babar Awan. He also appeared before the court as Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan took up the petition.
The judge approved Khan’s request for bail and subsequently forwarded the orders to an additional sessions judge in Islamabad.
On May 26, a first information report (FIR) was registered at the Kohsar police station at the complaint of Sub-Inspector Asif Raza under Sections 109 (abetment), 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public service), 188 (disobedience), 353 (assault on public servant), 427 (causing damage) and 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The second FIR was registered on the same day at 3:20 am on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Ghulam Sarwar.
On May 28, 11 more cases were registered against the top leadership, including Khan, and activists of the party under different sections by the Loi Bher, Secretariat police, Aabapra police, Golra police, and Bhara Kahu police, among others.
Meanwhile, former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and former minister Hammad Azhar also applied for protective bails in the FIRs registered by the Punjab police.
Former minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also sought bail in six cases registered in different police stations. Islamabad High Court (IHC) on the other hand granted protective bail to PTI leader Umar Amin Gandapur till June 13 in an FIR registered in Mianwali.
Moreover, District and Sessions Judge Kamran Basharat Mufti granted interim bail to Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed against Rs10,000 surety bonds till June 13.
The IHC has barred police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from arresting Qaiser in cases related to harming government properties during the protest march.
Qaiser approached IHC to seek protection against arrest after multiple FIRs were registered against him.
