ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday ordered the Inspector General of Police to produce Pakistan Tehreek-e-Pakistan (PTI) Chairman Imran before it within an hour.
“The arrest from the court premises will not be tolerated,” remarked the Chief Justice of Pakistan while hearing the appeal against arrest of the PTI Chief.
The bench also directed the PTI workers and supporters not to accompany him during his appearance before the court at 4:30 pm today.
The CJP remarked that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) committed contempt of court by raising a question that how a person could be arrested from the premises of the court.
Chief Justice Bandial remarked that the NAB should have sought prior permission from the registrar of the court before arresting Imran Khan.
“This is the matter of the honor of the court,” remarked CJP Bandial while heading a three-member bench seized with the hearing of the plea challenging the decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in which Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan’s arrest was declared ‘legal’ in Al-Qadir Trust case.
Justice Athar Minallah, the other member of the bench, remarked that Imran Khan had entered the premises of the court, observing that “such way must be stopped,”. Justice Minallah also remarked that one case was filed and another was being filed when Imran Khan was arrested.
The CJP asked, “how many people came to arrest Imran Khan?,”.
On it, the counsel representing Imran Khan said around 90 people entered the premises of the court to arrest him. At this, the CJP remarked, “then what the sanctity of the court left”. The counsel said that the Rangers mistreated Imran Khan and arrested him which sparked the countrywide protests.
Hamed Khan, the counsel for Imran Khan, provided evidence and stated that Imran Khan had come to the Islamabad High Court for bail before arrest. He was signing a bail bond when the Rangers broke down the door and entered the room. They misbehaved with Imran Khan and arrested him.
Justice Athar Minallah said, “The matter of the sanctity of the High Court will also be looked at by the Supreme Court. We have to ensure access to justice for everyone, every citizen has the right to access justice. We are only looking at the principles and rules and the matter of access to justice. What is happening in the country due to the political situation is very regrettable,”.
Justice Athar Minallah said that the Supreme Court will also look into the matter of the sanctity of the High Court, we need to ensure access to justice for every citizen, we are only here to see the principles, rules and access to justice, what is happening in the country due to political conditions is very regrettable.
Chief Justice of Pakistan said that where has the sanctity of the court gone if someone is arrested from the court, according to the record, the case that was supposed to be heard was perhaps something else, what respect remained for the court when 90 people were brought into the court’s premises? NAB has insulted the court, no one can consider themselves safe from the High Court, Supreme Court, or Accountability Court. The court’s dignity was harmed by Imran Khan’s arrest.
Justice Athar Minallah said that NAB has been engaging in these actions with various individuals for many years, if such arrests continue to occur, no court will be trusted in the future. When a person had surrendered in court, he could not be arrested.
Chief Justice of Pakistan said that the legality of the NAB warrant will not be considered, and they will review its implementation. What happened after Imran Khan’s arrest should have been stopped.
Justice Athar asked Imran Khan’s lawyer what they wanted from the Supreme Court. In response, Hammad Khan said that they wanted the Supreme Court to order Imran Khan’s release.
In response to Hammad Khan’s position, Chief Justice said that illegal activities cannot be overlooked. The decision they make will affect every citizen, and every citizen has the right to access justice.
The court asked why Imran Khan was not included in the investigation by the NAB? Was Imran Khan requested to appear in person in the NAB notice? It asked if NAB wanted to enforce the law on others but does not follow it themselves.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar remarked that many people also took bail on NAB notices, according to records, Imran Khan responded to the received NAB notice in March, in May.
The court asked if NAB had taken permission from the registrar of the high court before the arrest. NAB Prosecutor General said that NAB had executed the warrant through the Ministry of Interior. The court asked if the Ministry of Interior had acted on the warrant in the judicial jurisdiction. NAB Prosecutor General Asghar Haider said that they respect the judiciary.
Justice Athar Minallah said that NAB did not learn lessons for many years, and there were many allegations against NAB, including political engineering. NAB has caused a lot of damage to the country.
NAB’s lawyer told the court that Imran Khan’s conduct should also be examined. He continued to resist in the past, and NAB was at risk of losing lives.
Later, the top court ordered the Inspector General to present Imran Khan in court by 4:30 PM today. The CJP remarked that there would be no followers in the Supreme Court. The CJP directed the police to make sure that only the same lawyers and journalists who are present here at this time are there.
CJP Bandial observed that all proceedings against Imran Khan should be restarted from where he was arrested, the order would be issued today.
The top court also took the notice of the loss of government property and misuse of authority very seriously.
Rangers arrest Imran Khan from IHC premises:
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) got Imran Khan arrested through Pakistan Rangers from the Islamabad High Court premises on Tuesday. The scenes of arrest of the PTI chief went viral on the social media, sparking violent protests across the country. The arrest of the former PM also made headlines in the international media as well.
At least seven people have died and hundreds of others including the police officials are injured due to the protests against Imran Khan’s arrest in different parts of the country. The internet service is still blocked and the social media platforms have also been suspended.
The federal government also approved deployment of army in Punjab and in the Khyber Pakthunkhwa to maintain the law and order situation.
Crackdown against PTI leaders, workers:
Meanwhile, the police launched crackdown against the PTI leaders and arrested the key leaders during last 24 hours. Asad Umar was arrested from Islamabad High Court. The police also arrested Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhary, Ali Mohammad Khan and Ejaz Chaudhary. Three women leaders including Malaika Bokhari, Falak Naz and Musarrat Jamshed Cheema were also arrested by the police in Islamabad.
