Judge to stop Imran’s arrest if he surrender in court in Toshakhana case.

ISLAMABAD: Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal declared on Thursday that if Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan surrendered before the court, he would stop Islamabad police from arresting him in the Toshakhana (gift depository) issue.

The remarks were made during the hearing of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reference, which sought criminal charges against the former premier for concealing data about Toshakhana presents.

Earlier this week, the judge reissued non-bailable arrest warrants for Imran and asked the capital city police to bring him to court by March 18.

When the police arrived to Imran’s mansion in Zaman Park, however, clashes erupted between the Islamabad police and PTI supporters. For two days, the two sides fought, with additional law enforcement agencies joining the Islamabad police. Calm returned only after a judicial intervention.

An Islamabad district and sessions court resumed hearing the case earlier today. Imran’s attorneys, Khawaja Haris Ahmed and Faisal Chaudhry, were in court.

The judge asked Haris if it was essential to “arrest Imran and then bring him before the court” at the start of the session, to which Haris replied that it was.

The judge emphasised that he wanted Imran to appear in court and stressed that the PTI head is required by law to assist the police rather than resist them. He stated that if the warrants had been bailable, there would have been no issues.

Haris, on the other hand, informed the court that the warrants were non-bailable and read the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) judgement before the court, which had ordered Imran to sign an undertaking and appear before the court on March 18.

If the judge was “satisfied,” the lawyer said, he may accept the commitment and the PTI chairman would appear in court on March 18.

Haris again requested that the warrant be suspended because the situation in Lahore was “terrible,” prompting Iqbal to question why Imran refused to cooperate when the situation was worse.

The lawyer claimed that millions of dollars in harm had happened and accused the sitting government. He then questioned if the court would continue to be stringent about the non-bailable arrest order, claiming that a surety had been submitted in court and the PTI head was willing to offer an undertaking.

Also Read: Non-bailable arrest warrant issued for Imran Khan in Toshakhana case

The judge insisted that Imran was required to appear in person before the court.

Haris indicated that Imran “intended” to appear in court and was not requesting an exemption; nonetheless, he questioned whether non-bailable warrants were required for an arrest.

He went on to say that the court may accept the undertaking and delete the warrants, or it could take a surety bond and issue bailable arrest warrants. Imran, according to the PTI’s attorney, intended to submit an undertaking and would appear in court on March 18.

The warrant turned out to be the “most costly” arrest warrant in the world, with millions of rupees spent in attempts to execute it, according to the court. He insisted that the events in Zaman Park should never have happened.

Imran’s counsel continued to ask the court to revoke the non-bailable arrest order and to issue notifications and summons to the ECP lawyer.

The judge remarked that if the PTI chairman surrendered in court, he would prevent the Islamabad police from detaining him, adding that legally, the former premier should have been brought to the court directly and it would not have been possible to harass him during his court appearance.

Judge Iqbal further stated that Pakistan is a poor country that should not spend millions of dollars on an arrest warrant. He went on to say that action should have been taken sooner than the date on the arrest warrant, and that the person should have been detained and brought to court.

He went on to say that the cops couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. He questioned why Imran opposed lawfully issued warrants, claiming that the PTI leader could have protested peacefully.

“Arrest warrants are often obtained in criminal procedures and then rescinded after the accused is presented in court,” he explained.

The judge served notices on the secretariat police and the ECP, summoning them to court. The hearing was then postponed until 12 p.m.

Khawaja Harris and Lawyer Gohar emerged at the rostrum when the hearing restarted, and an officer of the Islamabad police law appeared before the court.

The public prosecutor informed the court that the SHO responsible for carrying out the warrant was still in Lahore.

The government’s lawyer said that the ECP attorney was at Peshawar High Court (PHC) and would arrive by 2:30 pm, thus the hearing was postponed till then.

Harris indicated that he was guaranteeing the court that Imran will appear in court, and he asked the judge to review the arrest order once more. He gave an undertaking on Imran’s behalf and confirmed that he will appear on March 18.

He further stated that the IHC had stated that the undertaking and surety bond might be accepted by the sessions court. Harris insisted that his team was fine with the judge’s directions but not with the petition’s dismissal.

He emphasised that he wanted the warrant temporarily suspended, not withdrawn, and that there was “no doubt” Imran would not appear in court in two days.

As the ECP lawyer requested it, the court deferred the hearing till 2:30 p.m.