Several senior leaders of Imran Khan’s party get relief from Pak courts

Islamabad/Lahore: Several senior leaders of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party have been granted relief by courts in protest-related cases, a media report said on Sunday.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including its chairman Gohar Ali Khan and Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub, were on Saturday acquitted by a court in Islamabad in two protest-related cases from last year, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Islamabad Judicial Mag­istrate Shahzad Ah­med anno­unced the verdict in the cases related to a protest on April 26 last year. The protest moved from the office of PTI leader Shoaib Shaheen towards the Karachi Com­pany, reportedly in violation of Section 144 and other legal provisions.

After hearing all arguments, the court acquitted Barrister Gohar, Omar Ayub, Ali Bukhari, Shoaib Shaheen, Malik Rafique, Amir Dogar, Amir Mughal and others.

Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore granted bail to former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a May 9, 2023, riots case.

ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the verdict in the case related to the Shadman Police Station attack case during the May 9 riots that erupted after the arrest of PTI founder Khan.

The judge deferred till June 26 a decision on another bail petition of the PTI leader in a case relating to the burning of police vehicles near Lahore Corps.

Qureshi’s counsel had argued that the PTI leader was not even present in Lahore on May 9 — the day of the alleged attack — and was in Karachi with his wife for her medical treatment.

The counsel stated that the allegation of conspiracy against Qureshi regarding the May 9 attacks was not proven and the petitioner should be granted bail, as many co-suspects in the same case had already been allowed bail.

Earlier, former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema also filed a bail petition in the same Shadman Police Station attack case.

Khan is booked in several cases in Lahore in connection with the May 9, 2023, violence, including for allegedly inciting his supporters to attack government and military buildings, which erupted after his arrest by paramilitary Rangers from the Islamabad High Court premises.

The 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been behind bars since August 2023 after he was booked in multiple cases.