Justice Anwarul Haq Pannu remarks that when the petitioner hoped to be released from jail, you added arrests in these cases.
LAHORE: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-July 25th, 2024) The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday declared null and void the physical remand of the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 12 cases related to May 9th.
A two-member bench, headed by Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, heard the 12 cases against Imran Khan related to May 9th.
At the start of the hearing, Justice Anwarul Haq inquired about the number of cases in which the petitioner is nominated. Imran Khan’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, stated that the PTI founder is a nominated accused in three cases, with two categories of cases: one where he is named and another where he is named through a supplementary charge sheet.
At this point, the Prosecutor General of Punjab presented all the records of the cases registered against the PTI founder to the court, along with a progress report.
Justice Anwarul Haq Pannu remarked that when the petitioner hoped to be released from jail, you added arrests in these cases. According to the law, as soon as you find the accused, you should arrest him. Why did you not arrest him earlier?
The Prosecutor General of Punjab responded that the accused was on interim bail at that time and could not be arrested. Justice Anwarul Haq Pannu asked if they had tried to investigate earlier. The Prosecutor General stated that Imran Khan had written to them, saying he would not join the investigation.
The Prosecutor General of Punjab mentioned that they had PEMRA reports, but the petitioner was not joining the investigation. Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh remarked that it should also be examined whether such a lengthy remand was necessary. If the petitioner does not undergo any tests, he will bear the consequences himself.
The Prosecutor General informed the court that Imran Khan had written that he would give a statement to the police in the presence of his lawyer, as he did not trust the police. Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh asked why a physical remand was necessary for a polygraph test, which only takes 15 or 20 minutes.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh remarked that the timing of the petitioner’s arrest is crucial. The Prosecutor General of Punjab stated that Imran Khan had said he feared for his life and could not appear in court. Since the petitioner was on bail, he was not arrested earlier.
He added that as soon as the bail was canceled by the anti-terrorism court, they arrested him. PEMRA reports are available, and they need to investigate.
The court questioned what the PEMRA reports were. If PEMRA calls a girl a boy, it cannot be accepted. If a political person makes a speech, it must be seen whether the intent is criminal or not. What crime does the petitioner’s tweet constitute, and under which section will the action be taken?
The court adjourned the proceedings for 10 minutes.
Resumption after the break
After the break, the Prosecutor General of Punjab presented details of the PTI founder’s social media accounts to the court.
He read out Imran Khan’s tweets, claiming a specific narrative was created. Justice Anwarul Haq Pannu remarked that the threats read out from the tweet are not more severe than those judges receive nowadays.
The Prosecutor General replied that the narrative was created by PTI. Justice Anwarul Haq Pannu asked if the slogan “Respect the Vote” was not a narrative. The Prosecutor General of Punjab said that saying the vote does not get respect because of the Army Chief is not a narrative.
The court remarked that if the petitioner called for protests, how would it be a crime? If he led attacks, then it would certainly be a crime. Justice Anwarul Haq Pannu asked what material was there against the petitioner. The Prosecutor General said that they would read it themselves; the court would not read it.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh remarked that the judge of the anti-terrorism court should have seen whether the remand was justified. He asked which section applies to the petitioner.
The Prosecutor General of Punjab replied that action would be taken under section 121 for sedition. Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh informed that this section had been nullified by the Lahore High Court.
The Prosecutor General of Punjab stated that a security branch officer had testified that Imran Khan had instructed to shut down the country and attack GHQ if he was arrested by Rangers or the army.
The Prosecutor General of Punjab requested the court to dismiss Imran Khan’s petitions, arguing that their investigation would be affected. They also needed to recover the mobile phones used for tweeting.
Justice Anwarul Haq Pannu remarked that even if recovery was to be made, the petitioner could not be taken out of jail. How would the recovery be done?
With this, the Prosecutor General of Punjab concluded his arguments.
Imran Khan’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, began his arguments, stating that in the case read out by the public prosecutor, Imran Khan had already been granted bail. In nine cases, the police were inactive for 425 days, and in three cases, they were inactive for 170 days.
Salman Safdar stated that for a physical remand, it is necessary to present the accused in court. There was no such compulsion that Imran Khan could not be presented. Providing security is the government’s responsibility. Using security as an excuse, they are deliberately not presenting Imran Khan for physical remand.
With this, the Lahore High Court reserved its decision on the 12 petitions against Imran Khan’s physical remand.
Later, the Lahore High Court announced its reserved decision, declaring the physical remand of PTI founder Imran Khan in 12 cases related to May 9th null and void.
