Home Featured Imran receives significant relief as LHC cancels physical remand in multiple new May 9 cases

Imran receives significant relief as LHC cancels physical remand in multiple new May 9 cases

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LAHORE: In a major relief for incarcerated ex-premier and PTI founder Imran Khan, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday set aside his physical remand in a dozen new cases over last year’s May 9 riots.

The “arrest” in these cases had come just a day after the former prime minister and his wife Bushra Bibi had been rearrested in a new Toshakhana case — following their acquittal in the Iddat case, which had them on the brink of being free from jail.

However, Imran, along with his spouse, is expected to remain in jail in the fresh Toshakhana case, the arrest in which he has challenged in the Islamabad High Court.

Imran, 71, has been imprisoned at the Adiala Jail for almost a year upon his conviction in four cases — two Toshakhana references, the cipher case, and the Iddat case, in which his wife, Bushra Bibi, is also jailed.

Imran’s sentences in the Toshakhana references were suspended while he was acquitted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the cipher case in June. An Islamabad district and sessions court had also recently accepted the appeals filed by Imran and his spouse against their conviction in the Iddat case.

Various courts have also acquitted him in several other cases filed against him since the events of May 9, 2023 — the day when his first arrest had caused riots across the country, following which the state launched a crackdown against him and his party.

However, shortly after the court acquitted him in the Iddat case, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had re-arrested the couple in a new Toshakhana case, scrapping his and his supporters’ plans of a possible release from prison.

As NAB secured Imran’s eight-day remand in the Toshakhana case on July 14, the Lahore police had also “arrested” him in connection with a dozen new May 9 cases. A Lahore ATC had then granted police Imran’s 10-day physical remand against a request for a 30-day remand.

Subsequently, on July 18, Imran had approached the LHC challenging his physical remand in 12 criminal cases of last year’s violent attacks on military facilities and other properties, including the Lahore corps commander’s residence. He had argued that the ATC order be declared illegal and set aside, and that his custody be transferred from the police to judicial custody.

After issuing notices on Tuesday, an LHC division bench had yesterday asked the prosecution to justify the need for Imran’s physical remand.

The bench had observed that the prosecution needed to justify what evidence necessitated the remand of the petitioner.

Today, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Anwarul Haq Pannun resumed the hearing, where Advocate Salman Safdar appeared as Imran’s counsel while Punjab prosecutor general Farhad Ali Shah was also present.

Hearing a separate petition, the bench also set aside a notification permitting Imran’s appearance in court cases via video link due to security reasons.

LHC dismisses Imran’s plea to avoid ‘detention by army’

Separately, Imran also filed a petition before the LHC to preempt his possible detention by the army amid “circulating rumours” that plans were underway to try him for the May 9 riots through a “court martial”.

However, the plea was dismissed as Justice Sheikh upheld the objection raised by the LHC registrar’s office over the absence of Imran’s signatures on the power of attorney.

Countrywide protests erupted on May 9 last year after the paramilitary Rangers whisked away Imran from the IHC in a corruption case. While protests against his arrest 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.

Thursday’s petition, filed by Advocate Uzair Karamat Bhandari and a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, requested that Imran “be retained in civilian hands and subject to the jurisdiction of civilian courts.”

“[…] Rumours started circulating that Petitioner No. 1 [Imran Khan] will be shifted to the custody of army authorities today (i.e. 25.7.2024) in connection with the very cases which form the subject matter of Writ Petition No. 45901 of 2024 and connected matters”, the petition read.

It added that Imran had just a few days ago expressed the apprehension — which was also widely reported in the media — that plans were “afoot to try him for the events of 9 May through a court martial”.

“It appears that the implementation of those plans has been accelerated because of the proceedings in the aforementioned case,” the petition added.

It also requested that the respondents — including the Punjab and Islamabad inspector-generals, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and others — be “restrained from handing over the custody of [Imran] to army authorities.”

According to the petition, the LHC in its Wednesday hearing raised concerns about the legality of the action taken and orders passed against Imran, which created “a sense of panic in the ranks of those who are desperate to keep him behind bars on one pretext or the other.”

The petition added that if the army detained Imran, it would be “a complete travesty of justice and due process”.

“It will be completely against the law declared by a 5-member bench of the Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan.”

On Tuesday, Imran had refused to undergo a polygraph — considered to be a ‘lie detector’ test — as well as photogrammetry and voice matching tests, despite a Lahore police team’s efforts to interrogate him regarding the dozen fresh May 9 cases.

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