Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and EX PM Imran Khan, eventually departed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) grounds for his Zaman Park home in Lahore on Friday night after hours of drama.
EX PM Imran Khan spent hours at the IHC after deciding to remain there until he received a written decision regarding his bail because he was concerned that the police may detain him once he left the building.
When Imran Khan received the written order, he attempted to leave, but a police officer told him that he had “orders from above” to prevent the PTI leader from leaving the IHC grounds. Imran Khan was a former prime minister who was deposed by a no-confidence vote in April of last year.
During a security check at the high court, EX PM Imran Khan instructed the police officers that if they didn’t open Islamabad’s routes within 15 minutes, he would declare his next course of action. Following his request, senior police officials arrived at the Islamabad High Court, resolved the standoff between the PTI and law enforcement authorities, and allowed Khan to depart.
The hearings and relief
On Tuesday, May 9, paramilitary forces detained EX-PM Imran Khan on the grounds of the IHC, setting off violent protests around the nation. However, the Supreme Court overturned his detention and directed the relevant authorities to free him.
The PTI leader was in the IHC after he went there today as directed by the Supreme Court to request bail in numerous cases brought against him, where he received general relief.
The former prime minister was granted two weeks’ bail today by a two-member special divisional bench in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. Subsequently, the court barred authorities from detaining him until May 17 in any new case brought against him until May 9 — the day he was arrested in the corruption case, which sparked deadly nationwide protests.
The court granted him bail until May 22 in the Zille Shah murder case after he applied for transitory bail in four cases filed against him in Lahore. Then, another bench prohibited authorities from detaining the former prime minister until the morning of May 15 in any case, regardless of its nature, while hearing the bail petition filed against three terrorism cases.
Intermittent aerial firing
The IHC buildings were the scene of intermittent aerial firing, which prompted officials to increase security. The spokesperson for the Islamabad police claimed that no one was hurt as a result of the shooting.
All police officers are secure, and search teams are looking into the situation, he said.
Gunshots were also heard by the Islamabad Police at H-11 on the Srinagar Highway. In addition to this, gunfire was reported in G-10 close to the IHC.
According to the spokeswoman, police officers were shot at in the G-11 and G-13 neighborhoods. Additionally, shots were fired in the slum close to Islamic University.
The occasional aerial firing, according to police sources, was another factor in enclosing Khan inside the IHC premises.
