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LHC grants Imran Khan extension in protective bail till March 27

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  • PTI chief secures extension in five cases registered in Islamabad.
  • Khan submitted affidavit stating bail petition was filed in Islamabad.
  • “If you do not get bail there, you will face consequences,” Justice Sheikh remarks.

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday secured a three-day extension in protective bail till March 27 in five cases registered against him in the federal capital after he personnally appeared before the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Khan — who was ousted in April last year via a no-confidence motion — arrived at the LHC in tight security as a two-member special bench, comprising Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Anwaar Hussain heard the plea regarding an extension in the protective bail.

Last week, Khan secured protective bail in eight terrorism cases and one civil case — a total of nine — after he appeared before the court in person. For the five cases in Islamabad, the court granted bail to Khan till March 24 and for the three cases in Lahore, he received bail for 10 days (March 27).

The verdict today was announced minutes after the PTI submitted an affidavit that a bail petition has been submitted in Islamabad.

Following the court’s order, the PTI chief’s counsel submitted the affidavit stating that his client’s bail pleas have been submitted in the Islamabad courts.

After the submission, the court asked the prosecutor whether he wanted to say something. The prosecutor said that he did not have anything to add.

Justice Sheikh said that the court is extending the relief granted to the petitioner as his cases are pending in the Islamabad courts. “If you [Khan] do not get bail there, then you will face the consequences of submitting a fake affidavit.”

He also warned the PTI chief’s counsel that submitting a fake affidavit was tantamount to contempt of court.

Today’s hearing

Earlier today, LHC Registrar’s Office had attached objections to the plea as the PTI chief had already obtained bail in the cases.

As the hearing began, Khan’s counsel told the judges that the former premier was seeking protective bail in order to go to the federal capital where several political cases have been registered against him.

At this, Justice Sheikh said that no such precedence can be pointed out when protective bail is extended.

Khan’s lawyer argued that the legal team was also struggling to understand how to secure bail as so many cases have been registered against the deposed prime minister.

Justice Sheikh said that it would have been better if this petition would have been registered in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Arguing for himself, Khan said that the last time when he went to Islamabad, all roads were blocked, mentioning that even today he came in secretly.

“In Islamabad, police used tear gas and baton-charged the people due to which we had to return,” the cricketer-turned-politician said, claiming that he “ran from there” in order to save his life.

Last week, security forces and Khan’s supporters clashed near his home — when the police raided his Zaman Park residence — and on his way to the Islamabad High Court. Police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds trying to block the former prime minister’s arrest.

Khan’s counsel told the court that they are only seeking a working day so that they can reach Islamabad; however, the government’s lawyer raised an objection to this.

After hearing the arguments, the two-member bench directed the office to fix Khan’s petition, adjourning the hearing till then.

Once the hearing resumed following the court’s direction to fix the petition, Khan’s counsel acknowledged that they know this plea was “extraordinary” as they are seeking an extension in the protective bail.

“We have a strong ground,” the lawyers said, at which Justice Sheikh directed them to narrate the incidents that took place since the last hearing on March 17 when he was granted protective bail.

The counsel started narrating the incidents by apprising the court that they went to Islamabad on March 18 to file a bail petition, adding they were not allowed to enter the federal capital.

At this, the two-member bench asked the government’s lawyer to confirm whether bail petitions were filed or not. “We are unaware of this,” the government’s lawyer told the court.

“Were these petitions fixed for hearing?” the judges cross-questioned, at which Khan’s counsel told them that the petitions are currently with the staff of the district and sessions court in Islamabad.

The LHC directed that authorities concerned call the prosecutor-general within half an hour. At which, the court was informed that he wasn’t there, adding that the if the court was convinced that the petitions are filed in the Islamabad court they would not oppose it.

The court further added that the petition bail cannot be fixed for hearing until the petitioner is himself/herself present in the court. “This is why the case wasn’t heard because Khan was unable to appear before the court,” the lawyer representing the PTI chief said, resuming his narration regarding the timeline of the incidents.

“March 19 was Sunday and then on March 21 we secured more bails as a total of 140 cases have been registered against Khan,” he said, continuing that no case was fixed for March 22 while March 23 was a public holiday.

The lawyers maintained that all cases are politically motivated and any relief granted so far hasn’t been misused.

“It is impossible to defend all these cases at different places as Khan is a 71-year-old person and is still recovering from the injuries which were sustained during the assassination attempt in November last year,” the lawyers argued, saying that it is difficult for Khan to visit Islamabad again and again.

The court asked the PTI chief to submit an affidavit that a bail petition has been submitted in Islamabad.

“We don’t want to set any traditions as the judgement, in this case, will be quoted in the future,” Justice Sheikh said.

Khan’s lawyers assured the court that they would “try to” submit the affidavit by 4:45pm on which the judges adjourned that hearing for a brief time. After resuming the hearing, the court immediately announced its verdict granting an extension.

Zaman Park operation

During a hearing on the petition filed against a probable operation at Zaman Park, the PTI chief said his client isn’t able to sleep as he fears the police might raid his Lahore residence once again.

Following brief arguments by his lawyer, Khan then came to the rostrum.

The PTI chief told the LHC that despite its orders, the police conducted a raid at his house for two hours and “stole” his belongings.

He said the police followed “the law of the jungle” as the court orders were violated. “Even the police are frustrated with whatever is happening,” the former prime minister said.

The court then issued a notice to the Punjab government and asked its representative to appear on March 28.

Elections

Atta Tarar’s triumph over NA-127 in the LHC is contested

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The victory of Attaullah Tarar, the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) from Lahore’s NA-127 constituency in the general elections on February 8 has been contested in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Samiullah Khan’s victory from PP-145 has also been contested. The petitions will be heard by Election Tribunal Judge Sultan Tanveer. The petitions have included the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) and other parties as parties.

In the meantime, Attaullah Tarar stated during a discussion with Miss Zoe Ware, the Political Counselor of the British High Commission, that fake news, misinformation, and disinformation were global issues that needed to be managed.

According to the minister, fake news is the largest issue on social media, and the government is working to address it.

The conference covered a wide range of topics, including the two nations’ relationship and how to foster media collaboration. Collaboration in the drama and cinema industries was also covered.

According to Attaullah Tarar, social media verification should be adopted by journalists, and a global code of conduct for social media usage should be created.

Miss Zoe Ware thanked Attaullah Tarar on taking over as Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) on establishing the cabinet.

She was given the assurance that the UK diplomat will work with her to promote bilateral ties between Pakistan and the UK.

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Pakistan

US commitment to resolving Pakistan’s energy crisis is prioritized

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According to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Pakistan was assisted by the United States in producing an extra 4,000 megawatts of sustainable energy.

According to him, these kinds of initiatives have given Pakistan more capacity to produce energy, allowing it to power millions of people.

The spokesman restated that both nations will cooperate through the green alliance to address the environmental issues.

At a news briefing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “Earlier, the United States advised Pakistan to halt the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Project, as engaging in business with Iran poses the risk of encountering U.S. sanctions.”

“We always advise everyone that doing business with Iran carries the risk of encountering our sanctions, and we would advise everyone to consider that very carefully,” he continued. “I’m not going to preview any potential sanctions.”

He said, “We do not support this pipeline going forward, as the Assistant Secretary made clear last week.”

The Pakistan-Iran pipeline project was approved for completion a few months ago by the caretaker administration in Pakistan. But after this permission, Pakistan received an official statement from the US expressing its worries. Pakistan again put a stop to the project’s execution when the United States expressed concerns.

Miller said, “We condemn the attack on a convoy of PRC engineers in Pakistan,” in response to a query. Miller also denounced the terrorist attack on Chinese engineers in Pakistan. We offer our sincere condolences to all impacted by the incident and are extremely saddened by the deaths and injuries incurred.

He declared, “Terrorists have caused enormous suffering to the Pakistani people, and Chinese nationals living in Pakistan have also been the targets of terrorist strikes.” Such acts of terror should not occur in any nation.

In response to a question concerning a letter from Pakistani judges, the spokesperson stated that while he had seen the letter, he had not yet conferred with his colleagues and would not be making any comments.

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Pakistan

Fazlur Rehman says the government led by Shehbaz won’t be able to deliver

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Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), expressed doubts on Wednesday over the viability of the Shehbaz Sharif administration, stating that he believes the new system will fail if citizens go to the streets.

Fazlur Rehman stated on Wednesday’s “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath” segment of Geo News that “the parliament will likely be a rubber stamp.” There are simply too many obstacles for this government to handle. In the end, politicians will be held accountable for all of their shortcomings.”

The “crime is committed by someone else and the politicians take responsibility,” he said, calling it bizarre. The leader of JUI-F declared that his organization will demonstrate against the establishments that had turned the elections into a “game.”


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Fazl has previously said that he would abstain from the by-elections for the National Assembly and provincial assembly seats. In addition, he declared that on April 25, following Ramadan, he will start a protest campaign against the purported election manipulation from Balochistan.

“We firmly believe that there will be a rigged general election in 2024. And the factor that changed the outcome would be our aim. We reject the findings that led to the formation of this government,” he declared.

The leader of JUI-F stated that they disagreed with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa election results.

“[Earlier] the issues with the PTI were ideological and not election-related,” he said.

He stated that the party had not yet made the decision to work with the PTI. He did concede, though, that the Imran Khan-led party’s attitude has changed for the better. He remarked that it was a positive attitude and that it would not be a problem if the two parties moved together.

Fazl also revealed that he told Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister, that he thought of him as a new blue-eyed boy during their meeting.

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