After much back and forth, Imran Khan finally leaves IHC for Lahore

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Friday night finally left the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) premises for his Zaman Park residence in Lahore after hours-long drama.

Khan was at the IHC for hours after he decided to stay within the court’s premises till he got a written verdict of his bail as he feared that the police might arrest him again once he got out.

When he got the written order, he tried to leave, but a police officer told Khan — a former prime minister who was ousted through a no-confidence move last year in April — that he had "orders from above" to not allow the PTI chief to leave the IHC premises.

“Open Islamabad’s routes within 15 minutes or I will announce my next plan of action,” Khan had told police officers stationed at the high court for security. After his assistance, senior police officers reached the IHC, ended the deadlock between PTI and the law enforcers, and allowed Khan to leave.

The hearings and relief

Khan was arrested from the IHC premises by paramilitary forces on Tuesday (May 9), which triggered violent protests across the country. But the Supreme Court nullified his arrest and ordered authorities concerned to release him.

The PTI chief was at the IHC after he appeared there today on Supreme Court’s orders to seek bail in multiple cases registered against him, where he got blanket relief.

In the first relief today, a two-member special divisional bench granted two-week bail to the former prime minister in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, and later, the court barred authorities from arresting him till May 17 in any new case filed against him till May 9 — the day he was detained in the corruption case, which led to deadly countrywide protests.

Then, he sought transitory bail in four cases lodged against him in Lahore, in which the court awarded him bail till May 22 in the Zille Shah murder case, then, another bench barred authorities from arresting the former prime minister till the morning of May 15 in any case, no matter what their nature may be, while hearing the bail petition filed against three terrorism cases.

Intermittent aerial firing

Meanwhile, intermittent aerial firing took place around the IHC premises, prompting authorities to put security on high alert. Islamabad police's spokesperson said no one was injured as a result of the firing.

“All police personnel are safe and search teams are investigating the matter,” he said.

The Islamabad Police also gunshots were heard at ​​H-11 on the Srinagar Highway. Apart from this, gunshots were also heard in G-10 near the IHC.

The spokesperson said that policemen came under fire in the ​​G-11 and G-13 areas. Firing also took place in the slum near Islamic University.

Police sources also attributed the intermittent aerial firing as a reason for restricting Khan within the IHC grounds.