Imran Khan appears before Islamabad ATC in terrorism case

Former prime minister Imran Khan reaches court to appear in a terrorism case filed for threatening police officials and a judge. Screengrab PTI Twitter

ISLAMABAD: PTI Chairman Imran Khan finally appeared before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad to seek pre-arrest bail after the expiry of transit bail granted by the Islamabad High Court in a terrorism case filed against him. On August 21, a first information report (FIR) was registered against the former prime minister under the Anti-Terrorism Act for threatening an additional sessions judge and senior police officers of the Islamabad Police at a rally in the federal capital’s F-9 Park on August 20. Khan appears in person before the court where ATC judge Raja Jawwad Abbas is hearing his plea. Terming the terrorism case against Imran Khan “political victimization”, his counsels Babar Awan and Muhammad Ali Bukhari have filed a petition in the ATC seeking their client’s pre-arrest bail.
The lawyers urged the ATC judge to grant Imran Khan pre-arrest bail in the terrorism case. In their petition, they said that the police lodged a terrorism case against Imran Khan as “revenge”. The PTI had staged a rally in the federal capital to express solidarity with Imran Khan's chief of staff Shahbaz Gill after claims of torture in police custody. The PTI chairman had said that the additional sessions judge — who sent Gill into physical remand on the police's request — should brace herself for consequences. An FIR was registered against him under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Margalla Police Station for threatening the judge and other senior officers of the Islamabad Police during the rally. A day after the registration of a case against him, Imran Khan secured transit bail till August 25 from the IHC which directed him to approach the relevant forum for pre-arrest bail. For today's hearing, strict security arrangements have been made around the Federal Judicial Complex, which is home to Islamabad's ATC. Security arrangements include the deployment of additional police personnel comprising 400 cops and FC personnel to assist the police. All the ways leading to the judicial complex have been blocked using barbed wires and irrelevant persons have been restricted to enter the vicinity. Moreover, an armoured vehicle is also present outside the court.

What did Imran Khan say?

Last Saturday, the PTI chief warned that he would “not spare” Islamabad's inspector-general, deputy inspector general, and female magistrate, vowing to file cases against them for torturing Gill. “We will not spare the IG and DIG,” he said while addressing the public gathering at the F-9 park. The former premier called out Additional District and Sessions Judge Chaudhry, who had approved Gill’s two-day physical remand at the request of the capital police, and said she, too, should prepare herself as the case will also be registered against her.

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