Daily Times

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi granted bail to former premier and PTI founder Imran Khan in 12 cases linked to the May 9 riots while PTI stalwart and former foreign minister was granted bail in 13 cases. Community Verified icon

Imran was also granted bail in the GHQ and Army Museum attack cases and the court ordered a surety bond of Rs0.1 million in all 12 cases. The bail applications were heard by ATC Judge Malik Ejaz Asif. The court said there was no justification to keep the PTI founder under arrest and all accused in May 9 cases are on bail.

Imran and Qureshi were indicted in the cases on February 6. The two were Iwere produced before the court, where the former prime minister informed the judge that he was illegally arrested on May 9 from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Imran was booked in multiple cases related to the violence on May 9, which erupted across the country following his arrest in a corruption case. The cases registered in Rawalpindi included the attack on the gate of General Headquarters (GHQ), rioting in the office of a sensitive institution and others.

He had denied the allegations mentioned in the first information reports (FIRs) of the cases.

It may be noted that earlier, after his release from Adiala jail, PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi was whisked away by Punjab police from prison in connection with a case pertaining to the attack on the GHQ. In July last year, a high-level joint investigation team (JIT) probing incidents related to the May 9 violence had decided to nominate the former premier in two terrorism cases including an attack on the GHQ.

With the addition of new sections in the cases, the PTI chief was charged with plotting and incitement to violence.