Imran to appear before ATC today to seek bail

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan Wednesday decided to appear before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday (today) to secure bail in a terrorism case, lodged against him here. PTI leader Babar Awan said this in a video message posted on the social networking site Twitter.

Babar said Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the party’s legal team, where it was decided to file an application in the Islamabad ATC for bail of the former prime minister.

An FIR was registered against the PTI chairman under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Margalla police station for threatening senior officers of the Islamabad Police while addressing a rally in the capital on August 20.

On Aug 22, Imran approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for protective bail, where a two-member bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Babar Sattar granted him protective bail till August 25.

Babar Awan said Imran Khan himself would go to the court and claimed that the local and international media were asking about the matter. He said it was a false case in which neither any bomb nor any Kalashnikov had been used, but by making a case of terrorism by the police, Pakistan’s stand against terrorism in the last 20 years was being destroyed.

He said that the international media, human rights activists and even the United Nations had expressed concerns over the issue. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had said in an interview to Geo News recently that the government would try to get Imran Khan’s bail rejected. “We will try to ensure that Imran Khan is arrested on the court premises and I am sure the court will conduct a full inquiry against him for threatening a sessions judge,” he added.