The bail plea hearing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir case was briefly halted due to Friday prayers at the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The hearing was being conducted by a division bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz. Imran’s lawyers filed four additional pleas, requesting the court to combine all the cases against him and to direct authorities to provide details of the registered cases. The hearing was delayed for nearly two hours due to a security sweep outside the courtroom and was subsequently paused due to Friday prayers. Geo News reported that judges had left the courtroom after pro-Imran slogans were raised.
Imran arrived at the IHC amidst tight security and was taken for his biometrics. Footage showed police and Rangers officials deployed outside the court premises with barbed wire placed in front of the gate. A large number of lawyers shouted slogans outside the IHC, expressing solidarity with the PTI chief.
Imran was taken into custody on Tuesday by paramilitary forces in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case, which alleges that Imran and his wife obtained billions of rupees and hundreds of kanals of land from Bahria Town illegally. The arrest led to violent protests across the country. Imran immediately approached the high court for release, but his arrest was declared legal. He subsequently approached the Supreme Court. On the previous day, the Supreme Court had declared Imran’s arrest from the IHC premises invalid and unlawful.