Team News Riveting
Islamabad, May 11
The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday termed PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case “unlawful” and directed him to appear before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) tomorrow on Friday.
The top court said that the PTI chief would be kept at the Police Lines Guest House but would not be considered a prisoner, and directed the Islamabad police chief to ensure the ex-premier’s security.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial allowed 10 people to stay with Imran over the night. “Imran Khan will stay at the guest house as a guest [and] his protection would be the government’s responsibility,” Justice Bandial said.
The orders were issued as a three-judge bench comprising the CJP, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah resumed hearing on Imran’s plea against his arrest. Earlier in the day, the court had directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to present the former Pakistani Prime Minister before the court.
Subsequently, the PTI chief was presented in court amid tight security a little after 5.45pm.
After the SC passed the order, Imran, while still in the court, said that no harm should be caused to the country and asked his supporters to remain peaceful. “We only want elections in the country,” he maintained.
When the hearing resumed, after Imran’s arrival, the CJP called the PTI chairman to the rostrum and said: “Good to see you.”
“There have been incidents of violence after your arrest,” Justice Bandial said, stating that the court wanted peace in the country. “It is being said that your [PTI] workers came out in rage,” he said and told Imran that the court wanted to hear him.
Unprecedented relief
Leading Pakistani newspaper Dawn said lawyer Usama Khawar, was of the opinion that the SC order for Imran Khan’s immediate release in the Al-Qadir Trust case “is unprecedented, not only in the history of the NAB Ordinance but also our entire criminal law jurisprudence, especially, the jurisprudence governing the granting of bail in Pakistan.”
According to Khawar, “there does not exist a single precedent in our history where an accused, arrested in a non-bailable offence and whose bail has been rejected by a high court, has ever been released by the Supreme Court within two days of his arrest.”
“This is the fastest case of getting post-arrest bail from the Supreme Court in our entire legal history. (It is another matter that the law of bail in Pakistan is archaic, draconian and in immediate need for reform, but it is applicable to everyone.)”
Khawar said that there may, however, be good reason for declaring Imran’s arrest illegal, for example, denial of access to justice and the manner of his arrest.
“If the decision is looked at without any political context — who the accused is, what sort of allegations have been levelled against him and the judiciary in recent past — it appears to be a progressive decision, but the context is very important here.”
“There have been allegations of special treatment for Imran Khan by the courts and our judicial system, especially by the Supreme Court, during the last six years. This perception undermines the rule of law, impartiality of the Supreme Court and equality before the law,” he added.
For lawyer Basil Nabi Malik, “the arrest itself did appear mala fide, and arresting people from court is certainly an ‘access to justice’ issue, to which extent, the SC’s observations appear to hold muster”.
“However, holding the arrest to be invalid and yet not unequivocally releasing him is a quaint reflection of our SC’s decision-making process as it stands today — the law figures in its determinations, but isn’t perhaps the sole or most important factor in rendering a decision.”
“Exigencies of circumstances, and a balancing act, seem to loom large in coming to a conclusion,” he added.
