Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted protective bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan till October 18 in the prohibited funding case.
The bail was granted upon depositing surety bonds of Rs5,000.
Earlier, the IHC had restrained the administration from harassing former prime minister Imran Khan, ordering him to appear before the court within 30 minutes.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had filed a case against Imran Khan for allegedly misappropriating funds.
Imran Khan filed a petition in the IHC for protective bail, in which it was argued that the case was registered under the Foreign Exchange Act asking the court to grant protective bail so that he could appear in the concerned court.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard a petition during which the PTI chairman’s lawyer said that there was the possibility of Imran Khan’s arrest. Justice Minallah asked, “Which court do you think the banned funding case should go to?” On this, the lawyer said that the case should go to the court of special judge central.
“Where is Imran Khan?” the court asked. The lawyer said that if the court orders, Imran Khan will appear in court immediately. The lawyer also maintained that the police had surrounded his house in Bani Gala and he did not appear due to the extraordinary situation.
PTI’s Senator Saifullah Niazi, Sardar Azhar Tariq, Tariq Shafi and Younus Amir Kayani have also been named in the case for a $2.1 million transfer from the account of Abraaj Group. According to the text of the FIR, Abraaj Group had sent money to the PTI account.
The text of the FIR also stated that the affidavit of Arif Naqvi submitted by PTI to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was false and fake. The case was registered at the FIA Banking Circle police station by FIA’s corporate banking circle.
