The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of PTI Founder Imran Khan’s bail pleas in eight May 9 cases until August 12 without issuing notices as requested by the ex-premier’s lawyer.
In November 2024, a Lahore anti- terrorism court had denied Imran bail in the cases related to the May 9 ,2023 riots including an attack on the house of the Lahore corps commander.
The incarcerated PTI leader’s plea challenging that was also rejected by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on June 24.
Subsequently, Imran moved the apex court last week against the LHC’s rejection of his bail pleas.
A Supreme Court bench has listed for hearing the appeals filed by former prime minister Imran Khan against dismissal of his bail applications in the May 9 rioting cases by the Lahore High Court (LHC).
A division bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJ) Yahya Afridi and Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui will take up the appeals eight in total at 9:30 am today (Tuesday).
Division bench of the LHC led by Justice Shahbaz Ali Rizvi on June 24 held that Imran was allegedly involved in the conspiracy to attack military installations in the event of his arrest a conspiracy, which the government claims, was executed after the arrest of the PTI founder on May 9, 2023.
Imran Khan approached the apex court on July 26 against the LHC order, contending that the prosecution adopted three different stances to link him with the alleged conspiracy of May 9, 2023 rioting incidents, all of which were rejected by different courts.
Commenting on the order, the petition said the prosecution repeatedly failed to establish any credible nexus between Imran Khan and the alleged occurrence as narrated in the FIR.
The prosecution in its attempts to link the petitioner with the purported acts of conspiracy and abetment resorted to three conflicting versions, each differing in terms of the alleged date, time, location, and witnesses of abetment.
It said all three versions have been judicially disbelieved either by the anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) or by the LHC.
It noted that during proceedings for pre-arrest bail before the ATC-III in Lahore, the prosecution belatedly claimed that a police official, Hassam Afzal, allegedly overheard a conspiracy at Zaman Park.
It claimed that this event happened two days before May 9 on May 7.
The prosecution also claimed that another Inspector Asmat Kamal overheard the abetment at Chakri Rest Area five days prior to the occurrence on May 4, 2023.
