Court suspends Imran's arrest warrant till March 16 in threatening judge case

Court says former premier must appear before court to be handed copy of the case

ISLAMABAD:

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Tuesday suspended the non-bailable arrest warrant against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan in the case pertaining to threatening a judge.

Additional sessions Judge Faizan Gillani issued the orders and suspended the warrant till March 16.

During the hearing, Imran’s counsel Naeem Panjotha and Intizar Panjotha challenged the non-bailable warrants, with Intizar maintaining that the provisions imposed on Imran were bailable. The judge then questioned if bailable arrest warrants were issued before. Intizar stated said that no bailable arrest warrant was issued.

The court directed Imran’s lawyers to fix the documents presented by them, with the judge stating that he could not comprehend the documents.

Intizar stated that Imran is the former prime minister and it was the responsibility of the government to provide security, however, the incumbent government has withdrawn security.

The judge inquired if there was a letter stating that security was removed from Imran, to which the counsel said that they could present the letter to the court. The judge then instructed Imran’s lawyers to submit the relevant letters by Wednesday.

The lawyer for the incumbent government said the PTI chairman was also summoned in the Toshakhana case. The judge remarked that Imran's election campaign had begun, to which Naeem replied that Imran had appeared at the judicial complex.

The judge maintained that the PTI leader had appeared at the judicial complex but failed to appear in the courtroom. He asked the PTI lawyer about the party’s work towards legal reforms, stating that Imran was ready to appear before the court via video link but there was no focus on “legal reforms”.

The court stated that Imran had to appear before the court so he could be provided with a copy of the case, highlighting that copies of the case were provided to the accused in their personal capacity and not to anyone else.

Intizar requested that the court give a date for March 21, as there was a petition for a video-link appearance before the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The judge replied that the lawyer was aware of what was to happen with the video-link request and that maybe he 'should give two months to the former premier'.

Imran’s lawyer replied that the former premier could not appear in court tomorrow due to personal engagements and requested the court provide a date for the day after tomorrow.

The court issued a notice to the parties and adjourned the hearing till March 16.