ISLAMABAD (Republic policy) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday decided not to appear in the Toshakhana case before the court on Tuesday.
Sources privy to the development said due to the security threats, Mr Khan had decided against presenting before the Islamabad court. According to the sources, the security team had informed Mr Khan about the situation during the last hearing.
As per the sources, the legal team had also apprised Mr Khan of the legal aspects in this regard.
The legal team will file the petition on Tuesday in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for protective bail, and the decision of the additional session judge will also be challenged. The lawyers will seek permission to present Mr Khan before the court via video link.
For the protective bail of the deposed premier, the LHC will also be moved tomorrow.
On Monday, the sessions court rejected PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s plea seeking annulment of the non-bailable arrest warrants issued against him for failing to appear in the Toshakhana case.
The court had, hours earlier, reserved the verdict on the plea filed by Mr Khan’s lawyers, Qaisar Imam, Barrister Gohar and Ali Bukhari.
Mr Imam had demanded the annulment of the warrants, arguing that the law barred the issuance of arrest warrants to some extent if the plea was filed as a private complaint. Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal remarked that Mr Khan’s lawyers had apprised the court the day the warrants were issued that their client would not appear before the court.
Imran Khan is supposed to be present in court on Tuesday. The judge had issued arrest warrants for Mr Khan earlier after he failed to appear before the court despite multiple orders directing him to appear to penalise him.
The capital police subsequently reached Mr Khan’s residence in Zaman Park on Sunday, but he reportedly “dodged” them. A few hours later, Mr Khan demanded a public hearing of the case while addressing the party workers.
Earlier, the PTI approached the Supreme Court for the appearance of the PTI chief in the judicial proceedings via video link.
