Various Islamabad courts on Tuesday rejected nine petitions of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan seeking pre-arrest bail in cases registered against him over the May 9 riots.
Three of the bail petitions were rejected by an Anti-Terrorism Court, with Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain announcing they were dismissed over the non-appearance of Khan, who is currently serving a three-year prison term after being found guilty of “corrupt practices” in a case of mis-declaration. Two of these were registered against him at the Khana police station, while a third was registered at the Bhara Kahu police station.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Sohail dismissed the remaining six bail petitions, also due to Khan’s absence from the hearing due to his detention in the Toshakhana case. These were pertaining to cases registered against the former prime minister at the Karachi Company, Ramna, Kohsar, Tarnol and Secretariat police stations. The judge, however, extended the interim bail of Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, and advised her to cooperate with the investigation team.
During proceedings, the prosecution argued that as Khan was already in jail, he was no longer entitled to pre-arrest bail. The investigation officers, meanwhile, stated that Khan had yet to join the investigation in the cases registered against him. They also said that Bushra Bibi had yet to join the investigation as well.
The judge then dismissed Khan’s petitions, while granting interim bail to Bushra Bibi until Sept. 7 in a case related to bogus receipt of Toshakhana gifts. He also urged her to join the investigation, with her appearing before police later in the day.
Following the hearing, Bibi traveled to Attock Jail to meet Khan.