Former Pakistani prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan. ANI
The Lahore High Court on Monday granted protective bail to former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan in a case related to protests outside the country’s election commission last year, Geo News reported.
This comes after an hours-long delay due ruckus inside the LHC campus. Surrounded by supporters, Khan entered the courtroom nearly two hours after arriving at the campus.
The hearing started after multiple adjournments. According to a PTI report, Khan has been granted protective bail till 3 March.
Khan evaded the PML-N-led government’s plan to arrest him as he appeared before the court and secured protective bail in the case in which he was booked under terrorism charges.
A team of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and police were present at the federal coalition government’s directive at the court premises to arrest Khan in case of denial of his bail.
This was the first time Khan appeared before a court after he sustained bullet injuries in an assassination attempt in November last year during a rally in Punjab province.
Thousands of workers of Khan’s party thronged the route of his Lahore residence to the LHC that made him cover a 10-minute distance in more than two hours.
Khan’s vehicle was showered with rose petals as it made its way inside the LHC premises with a large number of PTI supporters chanting slogans in his support and against the PML-N-led coalition government.
And despite his arrival at the court’s premises, Khan could not manage to reach the courtroom in 90 minutes because of a crowd of PTI workers. Sporting a blue salwar kameez, Khan got off his vehicle at 7.15 pm (local time) and reached the courtroom in heavy security cover.
Thousands of people were present outside the LHC and there were hardly any security arrangements.
After hearing the news of Khan’s protective bail, a large number of PTI supporters present out the court chanted slogans in his favour and the judiciary.
Earlier, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had given Khan last chance to appear before the court on Monday while hearing his protective bail petition in the case related to protests outside the ECP.
On 15 February, an Islamabad anti-terrorism court on grounds of non-appearance rejected Khan’s request for an extension in his interim bail in a case pertaining to violent protests outside the ECP.
Interestingly, Khan was not present in the protest demonstration outside the ECP building in Islamabad but the government got him booked under terrorism charges.
Khan has been residing in his Zaman Park residence in Lahore since an attempt was made on his life on 3 November in Wazirabad.
With inputs from agencies
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