A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Tuesday granted protective bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan till March 27 in two cases, registered by the Islamabad police. Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Farooq Haider heard the petitions, filed by the PTI chairman for protective bail. The PTI chairman also appeared before the bench, during the proceedings, in compliance with the court directions. The bench had initially heard the matter on Monday, March 20, and observed that if Imran Khan wanted relief, he must ensure his presence at 2:15pm on Tuesday. Barrister Salman Safdar, on behalf of the PTI chairman, had filed the petitions for 15-day protective bail in two cases, registered at Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Police Station and Golra Police Station. He submitted that his client wanted to appear before the court concerned and requested for grant of the protective bail.
The FIRs registered at the CTD and the Golra police stations stated that the PTI leaders and workers attacked the police and created unrest outside the Federal Judicial Complex, Islamabad, during the hearing of the Toshakhana case on March 18. The FIRs had been registered under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and sections 148, 149, 186, 353, 380, 395, 427, 435, 440, and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code.