ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan is set to appear in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday as per the Supreme Court (SC) orders.
Extraordinary security arrangements were witnessed in the capital ahead of Imran’s appearance at the high court at 11 am.
According to reports, police and Frontier Corps (FC) troops are deployed outside the IHC. Containers have been placed near police lines on the Srinagar Highway and a heavy contingent of police and Rangers officials has been deployed under the Faizabad Bridge, Srinagar Highway and Police Lines.
Military vehicles were also seen patrolling in Islamabad ahead of the hearing. Moreover, it was reported that no unrelated person will be allowed to enter the high court for the hearing of the high-profile case.
A day earlier, the top court came to the rescue of the PTI chief as it declared his arrest by the country’s top graft-buster from the premises of the IHC illegal and directed the immediate release of the former prime minister.
“The petitioner is directed to be produced before the IHC tomorrow—May 12— at 11:00 am for hearing of his writ petition filed to challenge the NAB action against him in the Al-Qadir Trust Case,” said the SC.
The apex court also said the NAB authorities and the Islamabad police shall ensure foolproof security to the petitioner until his production in the IHC.
Dozens of troops of paramilitary Rangers on May 9 broke into an office of the IHC and whisked Imran away in an armoured vehicle in a whirlwind raid while executing the arrest warrant issued against the former premier by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq later in the same day issued contempt notices to the secretary interior and Islamabad Inspector general police (IGP) over the manner in which the arrest had been carried out but termed the arrest legal.
While violent protests erupted across the country after the development—protests that involved attacks on security personnel and arson of military and civil properties, the PTI on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court against Imran’s arrest.
