ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was granted transit bail on Monday in a case registered against him under anti-terrorism laws.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party approached the Islamabad High Court after police booked him for “terrorizing” a judge and senior police officials after a protest he held in the federal capital on Saturday.
The former prime minister during the rally said his chief of staff, Dr. Shahbaz Gill, had been tortured by the police after his arrest on charges of sedition earlier this month.
A police report of the rally quoted Khan as saying he “would not spare” Islamabad’s police chief and a female judge.
“The purpose of the speech was to spread terror among the police and the judiciary and prevent them from doing their duty,” police said in the report.
Hundreds of Khan’s supporters gathered outside his home in Islamabad on Monday after news of the investigation against him broke out, vowing to “take over” the capital if police tried to detain him.
“We came to the Islamabad High Court today for protective transit bail,” senior PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi — who served as foreign minister under Khan’s government — told the media. “A double bench heard Imran Khan’s case and allowed him bail until Thursday.”
The bail prevents police from arresting Khan over the charges for the next three days.
Another senior PTI leader, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, said on Twitter the party would “take over Islamabad” if Khan was arrested.
Pakistan’s media regulator imposed a ban on the live broadcast of Khan’s speeches after his rally on Saturday.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Sunday the government was seeking legal advice on whether to include Khan’s name in the ongoing sedition case against Gill or to move against him for “threatening” senior government functionaries at the Islamabad rally.
Gill was arrested on Aug. 9, a day after he made controversial comments in a talk show aired by a private news channel, ARY NEWS, asking army officers not to follow orders of their top command if they were “against the sentiments of the masses.”
The country’s media regulator said the statement was “seditious” and said it was tantamount to inciting revolt within the military. The regulator also issued a show-cause notice to the channel, ARY News, for airing “illegal” content. The channel has since been off the air.
Khan had alleged that Gill had been tortured physically and mentally after videos of him screaming as he arrived in a wheelchair at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences went viral on social media last week.
Since his ouster from power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April, Khan has refused to recognize the new government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and has since held several mass demonstrations across the country, rallying for new polls.
Despite his ousting, he continues to count on the support of many Pakistani voters. The country’s ruling coalition has so far resisted Khan’s demand, insisting the government would complete its term by August next year.
