ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to produce Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan before a three-member bench by 4:30 pm today.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial also criticized the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for arresting Khan from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises, saying the anti-corruption agency had committed “contempt of court”.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Bandial, comprising Justice Athar Minullah and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, is hearing the PTI’s petition challenging the arrest of the former prime minister.
At the beginning of the hearing, former prime minister’s lawyer Hamid Khan told the court that Imran Khan has come to the Islamabad High Court to extend his interim bail. While the PTI chief was getting his confirmation, Rangers personnel entered the room.
He further said that ‘Rangers misbehaved with Imran Khan and arrested him’.
On this, Chief Justice Bandial inquired in which case Imran Khan is seeking extension of bail.
On this occasion, Justice Athar Manullah inquired whether the application can be filed before the biometric verification.
On this, the lawyer said that Imran Khan went for biometric verification as the application cannot be filed before that.
Justice Minullah inquired why NAB took the law into their own hands. It would have been better if NAB Registrar took permission from IHC.
He said that getting justice is the right of every citizen and the Supreme Court must ensure its delivery. The judge also expressed regret over the current situation in the country.
Chief Justice Bandial said that where has the sanctity of the court gone with the arrest from the court premises?
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice asked the number of officials who arrested Imran Khan.
On this, Imran Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar told the court that 80 to 100 men are present to arrest the PTI chief.
Chief Justice Bandial said that when 90 people entered the court premises, what was left of the honor of the court, NAB disrespected the court, he added that no one will feel safe inside the court anymore.
He further said that no one can be arrested from High Court, Supreme Court or Accountability Court, the judicial sanctity has been violated by the arrest of Imran Khan.
Meanwhile, Justice Minullah remarked that if such arrests become routine, no one will come to court.
“A person who has surrendered before the court cannot be arrested,” he added.
Chief Justice Bandial remarked that the court will examine the legality of the NAB warrant and its compliance.
The Chief Justice further said that ‘the right to surrender before the court cannot be violated’.
Meanwhile, Safdar told the court that Imran Khan is on the target list of terrorists and his security has been withdrawn. He also told the court that the investigating officer of NAB was not present at the time of arrest.
Safdar said that the way Rangers arrested Imran Khan is unprecedented.
On this, Justice Minullah remarked that the anti-graft watchdog has been doing the same to various people for years.
Khan’s counsel Safdar then told the bench that he came to know after his arrest that the warrant was issued on May 1. He further said that the Home Secretary informed the court that the PTI chief had not received the warrant.
When asked what the complainant wanted, lawyer Hamid Khan requested the Supreme Court to order Imran Khan’s release.
“Illegal work cannot be ignored,” remarked Chief Justice Bandial, adding that access to justice is a right of every citizen.
Meanwhile, lawyer Hamid Khan maintained that there was no worker or party supporter with Imran Khan on May 9.
On this occasion, Justice Mazhar inquired whether Imran Khan has responded to the NAB notices.
In response to the question, PTI chief’s lawyer said that the reply has been sent to NAB.
He said that no person can be arrested during the inquiry and NAB is bound to inform the accused on completion of the inquiry.
When asked if Imran Khan joined the investigation, his other lawyer Shoaib Shaheen said that he is going to send a reply.
He said that NAB’s arrest warrants are illegal.
On which Justice Mazhar remarked that this case is about the compliance of the arrest warrant of NAB, not the legality of the warrant. He also asked why the PTI chief challenged the warrant and was not part of the investigation.
Meanwhile, Justice Minullah remarked that NAB only wants to force others to follow the law but it is clear that Imran Khan also did not comply with the notice of NAB.
Meanwhile, Justice Mazhar remarked that Imran Khan sent a reply to the notice received in March to NAB in May.
On this, the lawyer said that Imran Khan received only one notice.
Justice Minullah remarked that Justice Mazhar is talking about the implementation of the law. He further asked whether NAB has asked the Registrar High Court for permission to arrest?
NAB Prosecutor General Asghar Haider replied that he has sought help from the supervising Ministry of Interior to execute the arrest warrant.
Did the Ministry of Home Affairs execute the arrest warrant in the court premises? Justice Minullah asked.
On this, the NAB official took a stand that the implementation of the NAB warrant was done by taking the ministry on board.
NAB has not learned its lessons for many years, there are many allegations against NAB including political engineering, Justice Minullah remarked that Chowkidar has destroyed the country.
On this, NAB lawyer Sardar Muzaffar said that the court also saw Imran Khan’s behavior as he had shown resistance in the past.
Chief Justice Bandial remarked that according to NAB, the federal government has decided the procedure of compliance.
He asked whether any NAB officer was present at the time of arrest.
However, NAB officials failed to answer this question.
Haider maintained that he was not aware of all the facts as he had just been appointed. He said that a private person can also execute the warrant.
On which Justice Minullah remarked that NAB itself is continuing to execute its warrant.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Bandial remarked that the warrant was issued on May 1 while the arrest took place on May 9.
The Chief Justice inquired why NAB did not try to arrest him for eight days, did NAB want to arrest Imran Khan from the court? He also asked why a letter was written to the Ministry of Interior on May 8.
Meanwhile, Justice Minullah inquired that how many notices did Imran Khan get?
On this, the NAB prosecutor said that only one notice has been sent to Imran Khan.
Justice Manullah said that it seems that the warrants of NAB were not in accordance with the law. He asked whether arrest was attempted after the warrant was issued.
He questioned that Imran Khan was in Lahore, why NAB did not ask the Punjab government to execute the warrant?
SC admits plea for hearing
The PTI had filed a petition in the Supreme Court a day ago challenging the decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) regarding the arrest of party chief Imran Khan by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). was declared ‘legal’.
The application was returned to PTI after the registrar’s office initially attached objections to the application.
The PTI chief did not approach the relevant forum, the registrar’s office said, adding that he may file an intra-court appeal.
It was further stated that the petition was not signed by the PTI chief.
But, later on Wednesday, PTI cleared the registrar office’s objections and it was accepted for hearing.
Following Khan’s arrest at the IHC on Tuesday, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi called an emergency meeting of the seven-member committee to review the situation and come up with a comprehensive plan for the safe and early release of the party chairman. A strategy was formulated.
A senior PTI leader had announced the party’s plan to approach the Supreme Court.
IHC terms Imran Khan’s arrest ‘legal’ in Al-Qadir Trust case
On Tuesday, the IHC termed the PTI chairman’s arrest in the Al-Qadir trust case as “lawful”.
IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq – who earlier in the day had questioned the Rangers’ move to arrest Khan from the court premises – announced the reserved verdict.
The Islamabad High Court also issued notices of contempt of court to the Inspector General of Police and Interior Secretary of Islamabad.
The chief justice ordered the high court registrar to file a First Information Report (FIR) on the circumstances of the arrest, which included misbehavior with lawyers in the vicinity and damage to the court building.
He also directed the registrar to conduct an inquiry and submit a report by May 16.
Khan – who has been embroiled in dozens of pending cases since his ouster last year – was arrested on the High Court premises when he appeared in court in two cases.
Hours after the army reprimanded the former international cricketer, it alleged that a senior officer was involved in the plot to kill him.
