Daily Times

PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan Thursday questioned if he was a terrorist.

He was speaking to reporters outside the anti-terrorism court in Islamabad.

Imran maintained that the country had become a laughing stock in front of the entire world due to the actions of the incumbent government by registering a terrorism against him on the pretext of announcing to lodge cases against government officials.

Imran reiterated how torture including sexual abuse of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill were confirmed in court.

“I said I will take legal action against the female judge, Islamabad IG and DIGs including the magistrate,” he said, adding that “a terrorism case was filed against me on this basis.”

The ex-premier said the entire world was making fun of Pakistan, which is quite evident in the headlines that were carried by the international media.

“This is like a banana republic, where anyone can do anything without being questioned or held responsible for their actions,” Imran added. “I am the head of the country’s largest party, and they filed a terrorism case against me.”

The PTI chief urged the people who are taking decisions for the country to think about the people.

“They are scared of PTI’s power, which is spreading and is evident in the by-elections winning streak.”

He alleged that the people in power wanted to technically knock him out to save their future generations.

Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Imran Khan Thursday secured pre-arrest bail in the terror case filed against him for threatening Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry during a public rally.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad accepted the ex-prime minister’s bail plea against a surety of Rs100,000, stopping the police from arresting Khan till September 1. The court also issued notices to the police and petitioner. Khan’s bail will be reviewed now at the hearing on September 1.

Khan appeared in the ATC in person where judge Raja Jawwad Abbas heard his plea.

At the outset of the hearing, Khan’s counsel Babar Awan and Muhammad Ali Bukhari termed the terrorism case against Imran Khan “political victimisation” while filing a petition seeking his pre-arrest bail.

The lawyers urged the ATC judge to grant Imran pre-arrest bail in the terrorism case. In their petition, they said that the police lodged a terrorism case against Imran Khan as “revenge”.

Opening his arguments, Khan’s counsel Babar Awan raised a question that according to the prosecution, his client threatened IG, DIG Islamabad and a female judge during his Islamabad address but they were not complainants, adding that a magistrate was a plaintiff as per the FIR.

The court asked whether the petitioner had threatened the complainant magistrate.

In reply, Babar Awan requested the judge to first view the FIR. The complainant was Magistrate Ali Javed and his address mentioned in the FIR as the Deputy Commissioner Office, Islamabad.

He said his client was accused of giving a threatening statement about the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and Additional Sessions Judge, and the three persons were not the complainants in the FIR.

“IGP and DIG, you should be ashamed of it, we will not leave you and take legal action,” he quoted Imran Khan as saying and asked whether it was a threat.

He said his client also spoke of taking a legal action against Judicial Magistrate Zeba Chaudhry and “we have taken actions by approaching the Islamabad High Court (IHC)”.

“In his address, my client had warned that he would file cases against the IG and the DIG,” Awan said, adding that he had warned about taking legal action cases but didn’t threaten to murder.

Imran Khan did not say that he would kill anybody, he argued.

The matter was also pending with the IHC in which the three persons were not the basic complainants, he added. Moreover, the police also nominated Asad Umar as an accused in the FIR who was in Lahore at the time of rally, the lawyer said, praying the court to grant interim bail to Imran Khan and also stop the police from arresting him.

Babar Awan then requested the court to grant bail to his client for a longer period as he (Imran Khan) was contesting by-election in nine (National Assembly) constituencies.

The court rejected the request and said it was granting bail to Imran Khan till September 1.

Meanwhile, a local court of Islamabad Thursday granted pre-arrest bail to Imran Khan till September 7 in a case of violation of Section 144.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Tahir Abbas Sapra heard the interim bail petition of Imran Khan in the first information report (FIR) registered by the Aabpara Police on the charges of violation of Section 144.

The PTI chairman appeared before the court along with his legal team amid foolproof security arrangements in F-8 Kachehri.

After listening to arguments from lawyers, the court accepted the interim bail of Imran Khan against surety bonds of Rs5,000 and stopped the police from arresting him till September 7.

The court also sought the FIR record from the police on next date of hearing.

The PTI leader was booked by the police for holding a rally to protest the arrest of Shahbaz Gill in violation of Section 144.

Strict security arrangements were made around the Federal Judicial Complex, which is home to Islamabad’s ATC.

Security arrangements included the deployment of additional police personnel comprising 400 cops and FC personnel to assist the police.

All the ways leading to the Judicial Complex had been blocked using barbed wires and irrelevant persons had been restricted to enter the vicinity. Moreover, an armoured vehicle is also present outside the court.

Ahead of Imran Khan’s appearance before an ATC, the PTI asked its supporters to take to the streets and head to Islamabad if their leader gets arrested. “If Imran Khan is arrested, come out on the streets and then head to Islamabad the next day. Clear directions from the party given,” a tweet on PTI’s official account stated.