I mra n’ s ba il in Qa dir Tru st ca se extended u ntil Ma y 31

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has extended until May 31 its order to prevent the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in cases filed against him ater May 9.

Last week, an IHC bench accepted Khan’s bail petition in the Al Qadir Trust case for two weeks, a day ater the Supreme Court termed his arrest in the case “invalid and unlawful”.

It had also stopped authorities from arresting the PTI chief until May 17 in any case registered in Islamabad ater May 9 - the day of his arrest.

On Wednesday, Barrister Gohar, represented Khan in court. Additional Atorney General Munawar Dugal, Advocate General Islamabad Jahangir Jadoon and state counsel were also present.

The case was heard by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

The government’s counsel requested more time to provide information about the cases filed against the PTI chief.

The court granted the request and adjourned the hearing until May 31.

Meanwhile, several reporters chose to boycot the hearings conducted by Justice Aurangzeb.

This decision came in response to his alleged directive limiting the journalists in his court to five.

Upon inquiry, the court’s deputy registrar revealed that the judge had issued an order allowing only a maximum of five journalists to be present in the courtroom. As a result, the journalists boycoted the hearings conducted by Justice Aurangzeb.

Typically, the Islamabad High Court permits around 30 journalists to atend proceedings related to the cases of the PTI chief, whereas in other cases, there is no specified limit on the number of atendees.

Khan was whisked away from the Islamabad High Court premises by paramilitary forces on May 9, leading to violent protests across the country. The PTI chief had immediately approached the high court for release but it had declared his arrest legal.

The former premier’s lawyer, Barrister Ali Zafar, then petitioned the Supreme Court on his behalf for Imran’s release.