International
oi-Madhuri Adnal
In a major relief for embattled Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday declared the former prime minister’s arrest illegal and ordered his immediate release after he was produced before a bench on its orders.
The order to produce 70-year-old Khan was issued by a three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah.
The bench, which heard Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman’s plea against his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case, expressed anger at the way Khan was taken into custody from the premises of the Islamabad High Court.
The bench had directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to produce Khan by 4:30 pm (local time) when the court would reconvene.
Khan was produced before the court amid tight security. As he entered the courtroom, it was closed, and subsequently, the bench resumed the hearing of the case.
”It is good to see you,” Chief Justice Bandial told Khan. ”We believe that Imran Khan’s arrest was illegal,” the top judge said.
Khan was arrested on Tuesday from the Islamabad High Court and an accountability court on Wednesday handed him over to the National Accountability Bureau for eight days in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Following the arrest of Khan in a corruption case by the Pakistan Rangers in Islamabad on Tuesday, his supporters attacked senior officers’ residences and the Pakistan Army’s installations in different parts of the country.
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An anti-corruption court on Wednesday sent 70-year-old Khan on an eight-day physical remand to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). His dramatic arrest on sparked widespread violent protests across Pakistan, leaving at least eight people dead and nearly 300 others injured in clashes between protesters and law enforcement agencies, as reported by news agency PTI.
The PTI supporters have held the army responsible for Khan’s arrest.
Separately, the Punjab police registered dozens of FIRs against the PTI leadership and workers for injuring police officials, damaging and looting public property and raising “highly objectionable” slogans against the Pakistan Army.
On Wednesday, protestors set ablaze Askari Tower in the Gulberg area. The plaza is reportedly owned by the son of former army chief Gen (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Police named 1,200 PTI workers for killing a man while setting on fire and ransacking the tower. They also booked Khan in this case, saying he was behind the attack.
The protesters also set ablaze Shadman police station in Lahore. Their attempt to enter the Governor House and the Chief Minister Secretariat in Lahore was foiled by the police and Rangers.
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Meanwhile, the police have claimed that they have arrested Khan’s 76 supporters who attacked the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
An FIR has also been registered against 300 miscreants including PTI’s main regional leader Bashart Raja.
According to the Punjab police, over 1,400 people have been arrested across the province in the wake of widespread violence.
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