Lahore: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Friday granted pre-arrest bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan in three cases registered against him following his May 9 arrest. Lahore’s Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) directed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI) chairman Imran (70) to cooperate with the probe while granting him protection from arrest till June 2. One of the three cases registered against the former prime minister pertains to the attack on the Corps Commander’s residence in Lahore.
Talking to reporters in the ATC room, Imran said he had never seen such “action” in the last 35 years. He alleged that it was as if all civil liberties and all fundamental rights were gone. Now only courts are protecting human rights. According to reports, the PTI chief insisted that he would continue to fight ’till the last ball’. Imran appeared before the court on Friday after his vehicle was allowed to enter the ATC premises.
Protests had erupted in the country following the arrest of Imran from the Islamabad High Court complex on May 9 by the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers. For the first time in Pakistan’s history, protesters stormed the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and set ablaze a corps commander’s residence in Lahore.
Pakistan police say ten people died in violent clashes, while Imran’s party claims 40 of its workers were killed in firing by security forces. On Monday, Pakistan’s military leadership called for prosecution of protesters who attacked civilian and military installations under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act.
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