Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been warned by a high court that it may cancel his interim bail pleas in nine cases over his persistent absence from hearings. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted him a one-day extension after earlier ordering him to appear on Wednesday. The directive was issued during the hearing of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief’s bail pleas in nine cases, two of which were heard by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, and seven by a two-member division bench comprising Justice Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.
During the hearings, the IHC expressed displeasure over Khan’s persistent absence and warned of cancelling his interim bail if he failed to appear before the court on Thursday. The two pleas heard by the IHC Chief Justice sought relief for Khan in a mutiny case and another on charges of attempted murder, while the seven cases taken up by a division bench pertained to violence outside the Federal Judicial Complex in Islamabad.
Khan has been implicated in over one hundred cases since his ouster from power in April last year. He alleges that the cases are politically motivated. On October 23, 2022, PML-N MNA Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha lodged a criminal complaint claiming that a shot fired by a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa policeman outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Constitution Avenue on October 21, 2022, was “an attempt on his life” allegedly at the behest of Khan.
The disqualification of Khan in the Toshakhana case had sparked protests in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, especially at Faizabad, resulting in the arrest of three people, a PTI lawmaker, and his two police guards. The clash between the protesters and police had started outside the ECP soon after the verdict disqualifying Khan when the KP police guard of Member of National Assembly Saleh Mohammad fired a gunshot.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf announced that the former premier would travel from Lahore to Islamabad on Thursday to attend the hearing. The outcome of the hearing remains unclear, and Khan’s future remains uncertain.