In a major relief for former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Lahore High Court on Monday granted protective bail for a week in a case pertaining to a violent protest outside the country's election commission. According to The Express Tribune, a two-member bench led by Justice Najafi conducted the hearing on the case and accepted the PTI chief’s plea to grant him a protective bail till March 3.
Why he was prosecuted?
Notably, earlier last year, a large number of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protested against the Election Commission after it disqualified Khan in the prohibited funding case (Toshakhana case). However, the anti-terrorism court granted the former premiere pre-arrest bail and summoned him to appear before it several times. Subsequently, the court had asked Khan to appear before the court in person by 2 pm today. However, he did not arrive on time, citing health and security issues. Later, the court gave him an ultimatum to appear by 5 pm.
This triggered the assumption that he would be arrested for violating court orders. Ahead of the hearing, the authorities deployed a large number of security personnel were deployed at the court premises, amid the fact he had faced an attempt of assassination last year. However, Khan appeared at the last moment amid lakhs of PTI supporters camping outside the court in order to get a glimpse of their leader.
