Islamabad, May 11: The Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the “immediate release” of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, declaring his arrest as unlawful, according to media reports.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Umar Ata Bandial, directed the former Prime Minister to approach the Islamabad High Court (IHC), as the court resumed hearing Khan’s plea against his arrest, as reported by Dawn.
The CJP expressed concern over the unrest following Imran Khan’s arrest and emphasized the need for peace in the country, as mentioned by Samaa TV.
The Supreme Court had earlier ordered Khan to be presented before the court within an hour while hearing his petition challenging his arrest in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) case. A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Bandial and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah, took up the plea.
During the proceedings, CJP Bandial referred to Khan’s arrest from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as a significant disgrace to the judicial establishment of the country.
Khan’s lawyer, Hamid Khan, informed the court that his client had gone to the IHC to secure an extension of his interim bail, but Rangers personnel entered the room during the verification process, leading to Khan’s arrest, as reported by Geo News.
Justice Minallah questioned whether a plea could be filed before biometric verification is conducted.
The lawyer explained that Khan underwent biometric verification first because a plea cannot be filed without it.
Justice Minallah criticized the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for taking the law into its own hands and suggested that seeking permission from the IHC registrar would have been a more appropriate approach, as mentioned in Geo News.
