The court has invalidated their physical remand in 12 cases related to May 9 violence. The verdict is a major victory for Khan and his lawyers.
The bench headed by Justice Tariq Saleem Shaikh and Justice Anwar Haq pronounced this decision on the petitions filed against the physical remand of Imran Khan.
The arrest in these cases had come just a day after the former prime minister and his wife Bushra Bibi had been rearrested in a fresh Toshakhana case…. following their acquittal in the Iddat case, which had them on the brink of being freed from jail.
However, Imran, along with his spouse, is expected to remain in jail in the fresh Toshakhana case, the arrest which he has challenged in the Islamabad High Court IHC.
On Thursday, a petition was filed by Adv. Uzair Karamat Bhandari requested that Imran Khan “be retained in civilian hands and subject to the jurisdiction of civilian courts.”
It also requested that the respondents —- including the Punjab and Islamabad inspector-generals, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and others ᅳ be “restrained from handing over the custody of [Imran Khan] to army authorities.”
According to the petition, the Lahore High Court LHC in its Wednesday hearing raised concerns about the legality of the action taken and orders passed against Imran, which created “a sense of panic in the ranks of those who are desperate to keep him (IMRAN KHAN) behind bars on one pretext or the other.”
“It will be completely against the law declared by a five-member bench of the Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan.”