Web Desk
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan is scheduled to appear before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) today for the hearing of a petition seeking bail in the £190 million settlement case. The deadline for his bail expires today.
Imran Khan has departed from his residence in Lahore and is on his way to Islamabad.
On May 12, the IHC granted interim bail to the former prime minister in the corruption case until May 31.
Khan was arrested on May 9 from the premises of the IHC by paramilitary forces, which sparked violent protests across the country. However, he was released after nearly three days of incarceration when the Supreme Court deemed his arrest from the high court premises as “illegal.”
Special passes have been issued by the court for the hearing to lawyers, journalists, and government officials to ensure smooth proceedings, as a large crowd could create difficulties. However, employees and court staff of the IHC have been exempted.
In a circular, the high court stated that 15 lawyers representing Imran Khan, 10 employees from the advocate general and attorney general’s offices, and 30 members of the IHC Journalist Association have been authorized to attend the hearing.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), in its request, sought permission for 14 members of its legal team to attend the hearing, stating that they were not provided passes during the last hearing.
The case pertains to an NAB inquiry against the former prime minister, his wife Bushra Bibi, and other PTI leaders regarding a settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon, which allegedly resulted in a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer. They are accused of unlawfully benefiting from the transfer of Rs50 billion (equivalent to 190 million pounds at that time) by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the government. They are also alleged to have acquired over 458 kanals of land at Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, for the establishment of Al-Qadir University.
