- Senior civil judge had issued Khan’s non-bailable warrant yesterday.
- Court had ordered police to produce Khan before it by March 29.
- Islamabad police team in Lahore to execute arrest warrant.
ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court suspended on Tuesday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan‘s arrest warrant issued against him in the case regarding his controversial remarks against a female judge during a rally in Islamabad.
The development came after the former prime minister filed a petition in the court challenging the arrest warrant. His petition was heard by additional sessions judge Faizan Haider Gillani.
At the outset of the hearing, the former premier’s legal team — comprising lawyers Naeem Haider Panjotha and Intezar Haider Panjotha — challenged the arrest warrants on Khan’s behalf.
A day earlier, senior civil judge Rana Mujahid Rahim had issued Khan’s non-bailable arrest warrant for repeatedly failing to appear before the court after which a police party from the federal capital flew to Lahore by helicopter to arrest the PTI chairman.
Khan skipped the hearing and filed an exemption plea from physically appearing before the judge, requesting permission for joining the court proceedings virtually via video link.
The court had dismissed the deposed premier’s plea — whose government was ousted from power after a no-confidence motion in April last year — and ordered the police to produce Khan before it by March 29.
During the hearing, a lawyer for the PTI chief, Intezar Panjotha, had said it was not safe for the 71-year-old politician to come to Islamabad amid security threats against him, adding that they had filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) asking permission to appear virtually before the courts.
Another member of Khan’s legal team, Naeem Panjotha, had said a petition had been filed seeking exemption from attendance on behalf of the former prime minister on security grounds.
The lawyer had also requested to accept Imran’s plea, mentioning “not appearing for some reasons and not willing to appear are two different things”.
