On April 4, Pakistan’s beleaguered ex-PM Imran Khan finally got some legal relief. An anti-terrorism court in Lahore granted him bail in 3 cases.
As per a report in ANI, Imran Khan’s bail has been extended till April 13 in three terrorism cases registered against him. The Zille Shah murder case, arson, and interfering with state affairs were three instances in which the PTI Chairman appeared in court seeking bail. Under the anti-terror and aiding and abetting laws, several cases were filed against the PTI chief at the Race Course police station.
The judges of the court had ordered that Khan’s presence is mandatory for the hearing if he wants to secure bail. The ex-PM appeared under heavy security where several personnel were holding up huge polycarbonate sheets to protect Khan.
In addition, Khan was walking blind, as his head was covered by a bulletproof ‘bucket’ like structure over his head.
Videos of his court appearance went viral on social media. Some netizens asked if Khan is wearing a bulletproof burqa.
“In Bollywood, Pathan plays with guns & bombs. In reality, Pathan appears in court in bulletproof Burqa”, commented the popular handle Pakistan Untold.
Security personnel were surrounding Khan from all possible angles with bulletproof material. They were also acting as human shields for the ex-PM. Pakistani media reported that since the attack during his rally in Wazirabad last year, Khan fears for his life and has been stepping out only under high security.
Khan is currently dealing with more than 140 cases related to terrorism, murder, attempted murder, and blasphemy that the PMLN-led coalition government registered against him over the past 11 months.
Earlier in March, Khan had made a similar appearance in the Lahore High Court.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) granted protective bail to Imran Khan in the same case and directed him to approach the relevant court in this matter. PTI chairman Imran Khan, who arrived at the court, wrote in his petition seeking interim bail that he wants to be involved in the probe but there is a fear of arrest by the police, ANI reported.
Khan had been granted bail by the ATC with a condition that he post surety bonds of (PKR) 100,000 in each instance and cooperate with the investigation and appear at all scheduled hearings.