Former Prime Minister and current chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has filed a petition through his counsel Faisal Chaudhry to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) regarding his potential arrest during the upcoming Eid ul Fitr holidays. The IHC’s registrar office has fixed April 20th as the date to hear his petition.
In his plea, Khan expressed concerns that he could be arrested upon his arrival in Islamabad and urged the court to subject his arrest in any case to judicial permission. Additionally, he requested the court to order details of all cases registered against him in police stations across Islamabad, including any cases filed in secret.
Khan stated in his petition that he had learned that the federal government was planning to arrest him during the Eid holidays, and that they were planning an attack on his Zaman Park residence in Lahore. He added that any potential arrest during the holidays should be subject to judicial permission. Khan also added the federation as a party through the home secretary, inspector-general of police, and director-general Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in his petition.
The plea mentioned that since the regime change, parties have been harassing Imran Khan on behest of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). The petition also highlighted that Khan has been raising his voice against corruption, which is why he is being harassed. More than one hundred cases have been registered against him since he was voted out of office through a no-confidence motion in April last year, but he has not been arrested in any of the cases so far.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) also fixed May 2 as the date to hear Khan’s plea seeking details of the cases registered against him and the possibility of a police operation by the government at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore during Eid holidays. The provincial top court has restrained authorities from illegally harassing Khan and ordered that he should be treated according to the law as per the assurance given by the Punjab government’s lawyer. The court’s verdict stated that Imran Khan should not be illegally harassed until the next hearing.
The Eid holidays will be observed from April 21st to 25th, during which all courts and government offices will be closed. The IHC’s Chief Justice Aamer Farooq will be hearing Khan’s petition on April 20th, the day before the holidays begin. The petition seeks to prevent any possible arrest during the holidays and to obtain information about cases registered against him.
