LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) in a court session on Tuesday issued a directive to the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, to participate in the investigation of over 120 police complaints registered against him across the country by Friday.
This order was made in response to Khan’s plea to dismiss all the cases that were registered against him last month.
A revised plea, however, only contested the registration of the cases, and named various federal and provincial authorities, such as the Federation of Pakistan, the province of Punjab, and the head of Punjab police, as parties.
The three-member bench, composed of Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, and Justice Aalia Neelum, presided over the case.
As part of the directive, the bench ordered Khan to join the investigations by 2:00 pm on Friday. The Punjab government was also instructed to provide a report on the investigations by May 8.
During the hearing, the lawyer representing Khan contended there were no cases against him throughout his 71 years of life.
The court then questioned why the cases were being filed after the change of government and whether they were an attempt to keep him away from the elections. In response, the lawyer representing the Punjab government claimed that Khan was seeking additional relief as a former premier.
Justice Baqir inquired about the status of the cases against Imran Khan. The Punjab government’s lawyer argued that Khan had not joined the investigations in any of the cases.
Justice Neelum requested a guarantee from Khan’s lawyer that he would participate in the probe. She further said the court was providing the petitioner time to join the investigation in all cases. However, Justice Sheikh asserted that an appearance before the investigation officer was necessary.
Khan’s lawyer assured the court that they would participate in the investigation in all cases, and requested the court to allow an appearance via video link. “We are ready to work under the laws and Code of Criminal Procedure,” the lawyer added.
Khan also requested the court to allow him to speak for a few minutes, stating that he was not running away from the cases but needed less exposure due to threats to his life. “Trust the court,” Justice Baqir responded.
After agreeing to follow the court’s directive, the case was adjourned until Monday.
