LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has fixed for hearing petitions filed PTI founder Imran Khan against his 10-day physical remand granted by an anti-terrorist court’s (ATC) in 12 cases related to May 9 riots.
An LHC divisional bench comprising Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Anwaarul Haq will hear the petitions on Monday.
On Monday last, a Lahore ATC granted the police 10-day physical remand of Imran Khan in 12 cases following a request for a 30-day remand.
The former premier had petitioned the LHC on Thursday against the ATC’s decision. He filed the writ petition through his counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, arguing that on July 15, the ATC had granted his custody to police in a hearing which he attended on a WhatsApp video call from Adiala jail.
He argued that the order issued by the court was tantamount to “misreading” established principles on the law of remand and urged the court to set it aside for being “unlawful”.
A 13-member team of the Lahore police’s investigation wing visited Adiala Jail last week to quiz the former prime minister regarding the violence and arrested him in 12 out of the total 16 cases registered by the Lahore police over the May 9 attacks.
It is to be noted that countrywide protests erupted on May 9, 2023 after the paramilitary Rangers whisked away Imran from the Islamabad High Court in a corruption case. While the protests were underway, social media was flooded with footage of rioting and vandalism at various spots, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence and General Headquarters, the army’s head office in Rawalpindi.
