Lahore High court approves Imran Khan’s protective bail plea.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday granted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s precautionary bail request till March 3 in a case relating to protests in Islamabad, putting a stop to the hours-long commotion produced inside its grounds. The PTI leader withdrew his appeal, and the high court dismissed his second petition in the matter involving protests outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The written order that was eventually issued stated, “Under the law, the petitioner is required to approach the court of first instance, but in the interest of justice, we are inclined to grant him ad-interim anticipatory bail that is protective in nature until March 3, 2023 to enable him to approach the court of first instance. Nonetheless, the ruling made it clear that after the specified date, this order’s legal force will end.

Todays’ hearing

Khan’s bail hearing was resumed after several postponements by a two-judge Lahore High Court (LHC) bench led by Judge Ali Baqar Najafi. Khan’s attorney, Khawaja Tariq Rahim, informed the bench that the former prime minister was in the court’s building and asked with the court to record the presence of the injured leader in his car.

Judge Najafi then ordered the attorney to bring his client before the court as soon as he arrived at the court’s location. The attorney argued that if someone pushed Khan during the rush inside the courthouse, Khan’s plaster would be damaged. The judge said, “Suspect’s appearance in court is required for interim bail.”

The hearing was postponed by the court until 7:30 p.m. Khan’s attorney asked with the court earlier today to mark the attendance of the injured leader in his vehicle in light of the PTI workers’ overwhelming surge within the court’s grounds, but the court refused the request.

After the postponement, Khan and his attorney returned to the court and asked for precautionary bail in the terrorism case. Khan took the microphone at the beginning of the hearing and announced that he will have x-rays on February 28. He pleaded with the judge to release him on precautionary bail for two weeks. The PTI leader further told the two-member judge that even though his party also uses the term “Insaf,” he respects the court. The court gave the former prime minister temporary bail until March 3 after hearing the arguments from both sides in the booth.