Pak court extends Imran Khan’s bail plea in Al Qadir Trust corruption case

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday extended former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's bail in the Al Qadir Trust corruption case for three days and directed him to approach the relevant accountability court.

The order was issued by a division bench headed by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

Tight security was put in place at the high court premises. A video shared on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s official Twitter account showed Khan entering the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as his security personnel held up bulletproof shields, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The IHC extended Khan's bail in the case for three days and directed him to approach the relevant accountability court at the same time.

On May 12, the court issued a directive prohibiting authorities from arresting the PTI chief in various cases, including undisclosed ones, registered throughout the country until May 15.

In the subsequent hearing, the court further extended the restriction on the arrest until May 31.

The court will also hear two additional bail petitions of the former prime minister, concerning cases pertaining to a violation of Section 144 during a rally held in Islamabad to show support for the judiciary, as well as the incidents of violence that occurred on May 9.

As Khan is facing over 100 cases, Bushra is nominated in two cases -- Toshakhana (gifts) and the Al-Qadir Trust case.

The Al-Qadir Trust case alleges that the PTI chief and his wife, Bushra Bibi, obtained billions of rupees and land from a real estate firm for legalising Rs 50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government.

Meanwhile, an Islamabad accountability court declared the bail plea of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi in the Al Qadir Trust case as “infructuous” after NAB Investigation Officer Mian Umer Nadeem said her arrest was “not needed”.

Earlier, the court had granted Bushra Bibi bail till May 31.

During the hearing on Wednesday — presided by Judge Mohammad Bashir — Bushra Bibi, her counsel Khawaja Harris and NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi appeared in court.

At the outset of the hearing, Abbasi said, “Imran issued a statement on May 13, where he used inappropriate language for NAB, the chairman and spread false propaganda against the accountability watchdog.”

He argued that the PTI chief’s statements with the ill intention of pressuring the NAB. “We never raided or attacked Imran’s Zaman Park residence, nor did we ever issue arrest warrants for his wife,” the prosecutor general said.

He asserted that the anti-graft bureau had no “personal vendetta” against anyone. Reiterating that the NAB had not issued her arrest warrants, he said, “When warrants aren’t even there, the bail plea may be dismissed.”

The arrest of Khan on May 9 by the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers at the IHC premises triggered unrest in Pakistan. For the first time in Pakistan's history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and also torched the Corps Commander House in Lahore.

Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan's party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel.

Khan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan.