Thursday May 11, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was produced before the Supreme Court on the orders of the Chief Justice after his party challenged his arrest.
The order to produce Khan in court came after Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial termed the PTI leader's arrest at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises as a major embarrassment to the country's judicial establishment.
The CJP passed the remark while heading a three-judge bench hearing a PTI petition challenging Khan's arrest. Besides the CJP, the bench also includes Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar.
At the start of the hearing, the prime minister's former lawyer Hamid Khan informed the court that Khan had come to the IHC to secure an extension of his interim bail. As the PTI chief was doing the verification, Rangers personnel barged into the room.
"Rangers misbehaved with Imran Khan and arrested him," he added.
To this, CJP Bandial asked about the case in which Khan had sought bail extension.
Justice Minallah asked if a lawsuit could be filed before the biometric verification was done.
To this, the lawyer said that Khan had gone for biometric verification as no case could be filed before that.
"Why has NAB taken the law into its own hands? It would have been better for NAB to seek permission from the registrar of the IHC," asked Justice Minallah.
He said that every citizen has the right to justice and the apex court must ensure its delivery. The judge also lamented the current situation in the country.
"Where did the sanctity of the court go with the arrest from the court premises?" CJP Bandial observed.
Meanwhile, the CJP asked about the number of personnel who arrested Khan.
To this, another member of Khan's legal team, Salman Safdar, informed the court that 80-100 men were there to arrest the PTI chief.
"What is left of the honor of the court when 90 people enter the court premises? NAB has disrespected the court," CJP Bandial said, adding that no one will feel safe inside the court anymore.
"No one can be arrested by the High Court, the Supreme Court or the accountability court. Khan's arrest has violated judicial sanctity," he added.
Meanwhile, Justice Minallah noted that no one will come to court if such arrests become the norm.
"A person who has surrendered to the court cannot be arrested," he added.
CJP Bandial then noted that the court will review the legality of the NAB order and its compliance.
"The right to surrender before the court cannot be sabotaged," the CJP added.
Meanwhile, Safdar informed the court that Khan is on the "target list of terrorists" and his security has been withdrawn. He also informed that NAB investigator was not present at the time of arrest.
"There is no example of the way the Rangers arrested Imran Khan," Safdar said.
To this, Judge Minallah noted that the anti-graft watchdog had been doing the same with various people for years.
Khan's lawyer Safdar then told the court that they learned after the arrest that warrants had been issued on May 1. He added that the home minister had informed the court that the PTI chief had not received the arrest warrant.
Asked what the petitioner was demanding, lawyer Hamid Khan asked the apex court to order Khan's release.
"Illegal work cannot be ignored," CJP Bandial observed, adding that access to justice is the right of every citizen.
Meanwhile, lawyer Hamid Khan claimed that Imran Khan was not accompanied by any party activist or supporter on May 9.
At this point, Justice Mazhar asked whether Imran Khan had responded to the NAB notice.
Responding to a query, the PTI chief's lawyer said that a reply has been sent to NAB.
He argued that a person cannot be arrested during the investigation and NAB was required to inform the accused after the investigation is over.
When asked if Imran Khan has joined the investigation, his other lawyer Shoaib Shaheen said that they are going to send a reply.
“The NAB warrant is illegal,” he claimed.
To this, Justice Mazhar observed that the case was about compliance with the NAB warrant, not the legality of the warrant. He also asked why the PTI chief did not challenge the arrest warrant and become part of the investigation.
Meanwhile, Justice Minallah observed that NAB only wanted to make others obey the law, but "it is clear that Imran Khan also failed to comply with NAB's notice".
Meanwhile, Justice Mazhar noted that Imran Khan had in May sent NAB a reply to the notice it had received in March.
To this, the lawyer said that Imran Khan had received only one notice.
"Justice Mazhar is talking about the implementation of law," Justice Minallah noted. He further asked whether the NAB had sought a warrant of arrest from the Registrar High Court.
NAB Attorney General Asghar Haider responded that the watchdog had sought the Home Ministry's help in implementing the arrest warrant.
"Has the Home Office introduced an arrest warrant on the court premises?" Judge Minallah asked.
At this point, the NAB official claimed that the implementation of the NAB order was done with the acceptance of the ministry.
"NAB has not learned its lessons over many years. There are many allegations against NAB, including political engineering," Justice Minallah observed, adding that the watchdog has ruined the country.
To this, NAB lawyer Sardar Muzaffar said that the court should also see the conduct of Imran Khan as he had shown resistance in the past.
CJP Bandial noted that according to NAB, the federal government has decided on the compliance procedure.
"Was any NAB officer present at the time of the arrest?" he asked.
However, NAB officials could not answer this question.
Haider claimed that he was not aware of all the facts as he had just been appointed. He stated that a private person can also execute the order.
To this, Justice Minallah noted that NAB itself continues to execute its warrant.
Meanwhile, CJP Bandial noted that the arrest warrant was issued on May 1 while the arrest was made on May 9.
"Why didn't NAB try to arrest for eight days? Did NAB want to arrest Imran Khan in court?" asked the chief justice. He also asked why the letter to the Ministry of Interior was written on May 8.
Meanwhile, Justice Minallah asked how many notices Khan had received.
To this, the NAB prosecutor said only one notice was sent to Khan.
"It appears that NAB's arrest warrant was not in accordance with the law," Justice Minallah observed. He asked if an arrest was attempted after the warrant was issued.
"Imran Khan was in Lahore, why didn't NAB ask the Punjab government to execute the warrant?" he asked.
"Who Arrested Imran Khan?" asked CJP Bandial.
The NAB prosecutor replied that the law enforcers had complied with the court order and according to IG Islamabad.
"Did the police monitor the proceedings under a court order?" asked the CJP.
At that, attorney Ge
