Islamabad [Pakistan], August 16 (ANI): Pakistan‘s local courts in Islamabad rejected nine petitions of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, seeking bail in connection with the First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against him over violent protests, Dawn reported.
On Tuesday, the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Islamabad dismissed three bail petitions and Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Mohammad Sohail rejected six petitions seeking pre-arrest bail for Khan.
The FIR was registered against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman in the Khanna and Barakahu Police Stations. The judge added that Imran Khan’s bail cannot be extended in light of the supreme court verdict, as per Geo News. The six cases were registered against the incarcerated PTI chief in Karachi Company, Ramna, Kohsar, Tarnool and Secretariat police stations of the federal capital.
Judge Muhammad Sohail announced the verdict and said that it would be convenient if the former prime minister who was removed from power via a parliamentary vote last year, joined the investigation related to the cases. However, ADSJ Sohail extended the interim bail of Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi in a case related to the bogus receipt of Toshakhana gifts till September 7, reported Dawn.
The PTI chief arrest in a corruption case on May 9 this year triggered violent protests with the party supporters attacking defence and military installations in many parts of the country. Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were arrested for their alleged involvement in the riots while the authorities had accused the former premier of being the mastermind of the violent protests.
Meanwhile, the ousted premier was again put behind bars at Attock Jail earlier this month after a trial court in Islamabad sentenced him to three years in prison and imposed an Rs100,000 fine after he was found guilty of concealing proceeds of Toshakhana (state depository) gifts that he received from foreign dignitaries as the prime minister of the country from 2018 to 2022. Subsequently, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified him for five years from holding public office following his conviction. (ANI)
Pakistan: Imran Khan grilled in Attock jail over ‘missing cipher copy’
Islamabad [Pakistan], August 17 (ANI): A joint investigation team (JIT) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) interrogated former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan inside the Attock jail, in a case related to the cable gate saga, ARY News reported on Wednesday.
The matter pertains to March last year when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman brandished a letter claiming that it was evidence of an “international conspiracy” backed by the US to topple his government.
Last month, the probe agency had grilled the deposed prime minister — who was removed from office via a no-confidence motion in April last year — for nearly two hours in the case after the Lahore High Court (LHC) withdrew a stay order against the call-up notice to Khan by the FIA into the audio leak involving the US diplomatic cable, ARY News reported. The FIA launched investigations against the ex-prime minister for allegedly making public a confidential diplomatic cable and keeping it in his possession.
Earlier today, FIA’s Counter-Terrorism Wing registered a case in connection with the “missing cipher” from the official record of the Prime Minister’s Office and indicted Khan in the case, ARY News reported citing well-placed sources said. They also confirmed that the JIT grilled Khan in Attock jail on Tuesday (yesterday). “The JIT met Khan in the office of the deputy superintendent jail,” according to FIA sources.
Last week, reports emerged that the JIT probing the cipher issue was nearing the conclusion of its findings but the latest publication of alleged content of the secret cable document in an online American news organisation has forced it to expand its investigation to cover the aspect of the leak to the media.
ARY News reported citing sources said the JIT was keen to see how and who had leaked the document’s content to the media and whether the content of the cipher, as shared by The Intercept, is original or exaggerated. Last month, the cipher case took a new turn when PTI Chairman’s then-principal secretary Azam Khan “recorded” a statement, terming the US cipher a “conspiracy” used by the ex-PM to “manipulate for creating a narrative against establishment and opposition.
Azam, who had been “missing” since June this year, recorded his statement under CrPC 164 before a magistrate, ARY News reported citing sources. Imran, while making the claims did not reveal the contents of the letter nor mention the name of the nation that had sent it. But a few days later, he named the United States and said that “Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu had sought his removal”.
Months later, two audio leaks took the internet by storm and shocked the public after these events. The former prime minister, then-federal minister Asad Umar, and Azam could allegedly be heard discussing the US cipher and how to use it in their interest, as per ARY News. Meanwhile, the ousted premier is behind bars at Attock Jail after a trial court in Islamabad found him guilty of concealing proceeds of Toshakhana (state depository) gifts that he received from foreign dignitaries as the prime minister of the country from 2018 to 2022, and sentenced him to three years in prison along with a fine of PKR 1,00,000.
Subsequently, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified him for five years from holding public office following his conviction. (ANI)
