Daily Times

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former premier Imran Khan’s bail, in a case pertaining to protests against the ECP’s decision to disqualify him, was extended by an anti-terror court on Monday.

A four-member bench of the ECP had declared Imran’s National Assembly seat vacant as it unanimously decided that he had misled officials about the gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure as the prime minister. The written ruling had read that the PTI chief had “intentionally and deliberately” violated the provisions contained in sections 137, 167 and 173 of the Elections Act, 2017 as he submitted a “false statement” and “incorrect declaration” to the ECP in the details of his assets and liabilities filed by him for the year 2020-21. It had added that the PTI chief had attracted disqualification under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution read with Sections 137 and 173 of the Elections Act, 2017.

“Consequently he ceases to be a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and his seat has become vacant accordingly,” it had read. The PTI supporters and workers, led by local party leaders, had protested against the verdict on major and link roads in cities and towns, burning tyres, shouting slogans and at places clashing with police.

There were clashes between police and PTI supporters in Rawalpindi’s Faizabad Interchange, where reportedly one protester was injured. The police resorted to heavy teargas shelling to prevent the protesters from entering Islamabad. The protests were called by senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, who said that the party would challenge the ECP decision in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and urged people to take to the streets “for their rights”.

Soon after the announcement, PTI workers blocked roads in many cities. The reports of roads and highways closure in various cities created a state of fear and uncertainty among the people. In a video message, released after he was disqualified, Imran had said that he did not want the party workers to run into any trouble and had called off the protests by his supporters, telling his party’s workers to focus on the “long march” on Islamabad that would be “largest protest movement” in the country. Nevertheless, a case was registered against the PTI Chairman at Sangjani police station after protests erupted after news broke that Imran had been disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in October.

During the hearing on Monday, Imran’s lawyer Babar Awan appeared before the court where he had filed a request for the court to excuse the PTI chief’s absence on medical grounds. Granting Imran exemption the court extended the bail until January 10 and adjourned proceedings until then.