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Pakistan Judiciary Backing PTI: Pakistan SC, Islamabad High Court, Both Grant Bail To Imran Khan
Ujjwal Shrotryia
May 12, 2023, 06:07 PM | Updated 06:07 PM IST
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A day after the Pakistan Supreme Court (SC) declared the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan illegal, the Islamabad High Court has granted him a two-week bail.
According to a report by Dawn, Khan has been granted two-week bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case by a bench consisting of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on the other hand criticised the bail order granted by the court, and said, “If you want to keep favouring this ladla then you should also release all the dacoits behind bars in the country".
"Let this be free for all, and the consequences of whatever followed next will be borne by everyone," he adds.
Sharif further said, "PTI protesters have disrespected the martyrs of the country in a way that was not even done by our enemies, the attacks on army installations … there can be no greater terrorism in the country".
He said without naming India, "And seeing all this, a country, I don’t want to take its name, was celebrating that what couldn’t happen in 75 years is now happening in Pakistan".
Khan was arrested by the Pakistani Rangers from the Islamabad High Court three days ago (9 May), which has led to widespread violence in the country.
Khan is accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the country's anti-corruption watchdog, of receiving billions of rupees from a real estate firm to legalise laundered money that was returned to Pakistan by the UK during the tenure of his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf.
He is also accused in the Toshkhana case of illegally selling gifts from foreign dignitaries for personal benefit.
Yesterday, the Pakistan Supreme Court directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to produce Khan before the court within an hour. Following the hearing, the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah, termed his arrest illegal.
Justice Athar Minallah said, that "if the foundation [of the arrest] was illegal then a structure cannot be allowed to be built on it" adding that, "the time had come to set an example for the future".
"The manner in which the arrest was conducted cannot be tolerated, and will set a wrong precedent," Justice Minallah added.
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Editorial Associate at Swarajya. Writes on Indian Military and Defence.
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