Islamabad HC grants bail to Imran Khan for two weeks in Al-Qadir Trust case

A special bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday granted former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan protective bail in a corruption case. A division bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz heard the Al-Qadir trust corruption case. This comes a day after the Supreme Court termed Khan's arrest from the IHC premises on Tuesday as 'invalid and unlawful'.

The IHC's decision to grant Khan a two-week reprieve from arrest came hours after he warned of countrywide unrest if he was arrested again, Geo News reported. The 70-year-old Khan arrived at the court shortly after 11.30 am local time amid tight security and underwent the biometric identification process and other formalities. The hearing was delayed for nearly two hours due to security reasons.

Earlier, the two judges left the courtroom amid pro-Khan slogan shouting by a lawyer. The upset judges later announced that the hearing will resume after Friday prayers. Dawn News reported that Khan's lawyers had filed four additional requests which urged the IHC to club all the cases against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and to direct authorities to provide details of the cases registered against him.

Khan was arrested from the premises of the IHC on Tuesday in the Al-Qadir Trust case after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) issued an arrest warrant against him.

What is Al-Qadir Trust corruption case?

The Al-Qadir Trust corruption case is about the setting up of Al-Qadir University for Sufism in 2019 Sohawa area of Jhelum district of Punjab. Khan is accused of looting Rs 50 billion from the national treasury in the case.

The former prime minister, along with his wife Bushra Bibi and other PTI leaders, are facing a NAB inquiry related to a settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon. They are also accused of getting undue benefit in the form of over 458 kanals (23.16 hectares) of land at Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, to establish Al Qadir University.

Khan's arrest on Tuesday by paramilitary Rangers sparked widespread protests across Pakistan, prompting the deployment of the Army here as well as in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. The violent protests left at least eight people dead.

The IHC upheld his arrest but a three-member Supreme Court bench on Thursday declared his detention 'illegal' and ordered his immediate release. The apex court directed police to keep him in the Supreme Court's protection and produce him before the high court at 11 am.

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