Imran Khan’s non-bailable arrest warrants were delayed by an Islamabad court on Thursday until March 20 in connection with the judge-threatening case.
Other Districts and Sessions Khan, who was deposed as prime minister in April of last year, was ordered by Judge Faizan Gillani to show himself before the appropriate court on the scheduled date while also suspending the warrants.
Due to Khan’s frequent failures to appear in court, senior civil judge Rana Mujahid Rahim issued a non-bailable arrest order for him on March 13.
The former prime minister had petitioned a local court to contest the arrest order in an effort to avoid being arrested, but despite numerous summonses, he has yet to show up in person.
Judge Gillani later delayed the arrest warrants until March 16; he extended the reprieve today.
Rizwan Abbasi, the prosecutor, objected the suspension of the arrest order when he appeared before the court at today’s hearing, but the PTI lawyer argued for the party chief’s release, and the judge agreed.
The case
The former prime minister was charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act for threatening senior Islamabad Police officers and Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry at a rally in August of last year.
The former prime minister was then charged with contempt of court by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
After the PTI head apologised in the contempt case, the high court later dropped the terror accusations and also granted the PTI chief’s pardon.
Nevertheless, a similar case that was brought against the PTI leader after the first information report (FIR) was registered against him is still pending before the sessions court.
