Imran Khan protected from arrest till May 17 in any new case filed after May 9: IHC

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday barred authorities from arresting former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan till Wednesday in any new case filed after May 9, minutes after granting him a two-week protective bail in a corruption case.

A division bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz heard the Al-Qadir trust case against Khan, a day after the Supreme Court of Pakistan termed his arrest from the IHC premises on Tuesday as “invalid and unlawful”.

Hearing a separate petition, the court granted him bail in all cases filed after May 9. The bail will be valid till May 17.

Khan had filed a petition to provide him with details of all cases filed against him with the request for bail in those cases.

Khan in the petition had told the court that he was not aware of the violence but cases had been registered. While granting bail, Justice Aurangzeb also remarked that should condemn all the incidents of violence in the wake of his arrest.

The orders by the court show that apparently, the court stopped all avenues to arrest him as Khan had expressed fears that he could be arrested after going out of the premises of the IHC.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the government would honour the court orders and would not arrest Khan in the cases he had secured bail from the court.

Khan, 70, who was arrested from the premises of the IHC on Tuesday was earlier granted 15-day protective bail by the two-member special division bench.

A beaming Khan, sporting a stylish pair of sunglasses, arrived at IHC in tight security like a celebrity, wearing a crisp light-blue salwar kameez and a dark blue waistcoat, as hundreds of police and paramilitary troops guarded the premises.