A district and sessions court in Pakistan has ruled to change the non-bailable arrest warrant issued for Imran Khan, the Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and former Prime Minister, to a bailable one in the case of threatening a female judge. The decision was made by Additional Sessions Judge Sikandar Khan during the hearing of Imran’s request against the original warrant issued by Judicial Magistrate Malik Aman. The court set a bailable arrest warrant against surety bonds of Rs20,000.
Imran Khan’s counsel expressed satisfaction with the decision, stating that it prevented the prosecution from staging another drama outside Zaman Park. However, the ruling comes after a district and sessions court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the April 18 hearing, rejecting Imran’s request for an exemption from appearance in the case of intimidating a female judge. Imran filed an appeal, claiming that his life was in danger.
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Prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi opposed Imran’s petition for exemption and argued that since the former premier was absent, the bailable warrant should be changed to a non-bailable warrant. The prosecutor also rejected the “excuse” of the Wazirabad attack and noted that Imran Khan’s medical report had not been submitted. The court reserved its decision after hearing the arguments of the lawyers and the prosecutor. Ultimately, the court rejected Imran’s request for exemption and issued a non-bailable arrest warrant while ordering him to appear in court on April 18.
