The Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan two weeks’ bail on Friday, shortly after the hearing in the Al-Qadir Trust case resumed.
Throughout the proceedings, Khan had warned of nationwide unrest if he was arrested.
During the first session of the hearing, a two-member special division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) left the courtroom, adjourning the hearing on the bail petition of imran Khan immediately after pro-Khan slogans were chanted.
The IHC took up the former prime minister’s bail plea a day after Supreme Court termed the former prime minister’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case “unlawful”.
In the courtroom, Khan — in response to a question from Geo News on whether he was allowed to use the phone during his arrest — said: “NAB officials allowed me to talk to my wife via landline”.
The reporter then cross-questioned why did Khan contact Musarrat Cheema when he was given the phone to talk to his wife.
At this Khan clarified that he could not contact his wife.
In response to a question that had he expected to be arrested, Khan replied: “I was 100% certain that I would be arrested.”
Following this, the courtroom erupted into slogans in favor of the PTI chief. The courtroom staff tried to stop the chanting; however, they failed to do so. At this, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb said that this was “unacceptable”.
Following that, the hearing was briefly adjourned to allow for a break for Friday prayers.
Khan arrived at Islamabad High Court in a high-security convoy, where hundreds of police and paramilitary troops had been deployed.
He was immediately taken for biometrics after arriving at court and will now appear before a two-member bench seeking bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq has formed a “special division bench” which comprises Justice Aurangzeb and Justice Imtiaz to hear Khan’s bail plea.
“We are hopeful that bail will be granted by the High Court,” Faisal Hussain Chaudhry, a lawyer for Khan told reporters.
