ISLAMABAD: A banking court on Monday turned down the prosecution’s plea to cancel Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s bail and extended his interim bail till November 10 in prohibited funding case.
The banking court judge, Rakhshanda Shaheen while hearing the prohibited funding case against Khan and others extended Khan’s interim bail. At the start of the hearing, Khan’s lawyer filed an application before the court seeking a one-day exemption for his client before it.
Intizar Panjhota, the counsel for PTI chief argued before the court that his client is a leader of a political party and is currently in Lahore leading a long march towards Islamabad. “We only request for the exemption for today as Khan always appears before the court in every hearing”, he added. Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi while opposing Khan’s plea requested the court to reject it.
“This is not justified ground that PTI chief is in a march and cannot appear before the court,” he remarked.
The court after hearing the arguments of both parties reserved its verdict on the exemption application filed by Khan. The court also heard the interim bail of Khan and other accused.
The court also heard the interim bail pleas of the suspects — Yunus Ali Raza, SardarAzhar Tariq, Tariq Shafi and Faisal Maqbool — involved in the case.
The court while announcing its reserved verdict accepted Khan’s exemption application and also extended his interim bail till November 10.
The FIR lodged by the FIA in Islamabad in the case, includes sections 420, 468, 471, 477-A, and 109 read with sections 5 and 23 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947.
Meanwhile, Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) extended the interim bail of PTI chairman in a terrorism case filed against him after demonstrations were held following his disqualification by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in Toshakhana reference. The ATC judge Raja Jawad Abbas, while hearing Khan’s bail plea, extended interim bail till November 9 in case registered against him in Tarnol police station.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022