Pakistan Ex-PM Imran Khan Moves Islamabad HC for Bail in Toshakhana & Al-Qadir Cases

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has moved the Islamabad High Court, seeking bail in the Toshakhana and the Al-Qadir Trust cases.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder, through his counsel, filed two separate pleas challenging an accountability court’s verdict that rejected his post-arrest bail in both cases.

In the pleas, Khan has urged the Islamabad HC to overturn the accountability court’s ruling and grant him bail. The pleas argued that the accountability court dismissed bail after the arrest pleas of the PTI founder in both cases. Imran Khan has consistently asserted that the cases against him are motivated by “political victimization” and are driven by “mala fide intentions.”

On January 9, the Accountability Court in Islamabad rejected Imran Khan’s bail applications in the Toshakhana and the 190 million-pound Al-Qadir Trust cases. Judge Muhammad Bashir, presiding over the Toshakhana and 190-million-pound scandal case references, announced the verdict on petitions filed by the deposed prime minister.

In a separate development on Tuesday, the Lahore High Court reinstated Imran Khan’s bail in seven cases related to the protests held on May 9. Notably, widespread protests erupted across Pakistan after Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023. The protests, held in remote and major cities, saw PTI workers expressing their discontent. PTI workers even attacked army installations, including the Corps Commander’s house in Lahore, during the protests.

Imran Khan and the PTI’s top leaders are contending with multiple cases as the elections approach on February 8. The PTI faced setbacks in court, losing the case to regain its electoral symbol “bat” and challenging the legality of its intra-party elections.

While the PTI grapples with challenges, its major rivals, the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), have initiated nationwide campaigns and distributed tickets for national and provincial constituencies.