Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to produce former Prime Minister Imran Khan within an hour. Khan was arrested from the court premises of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday. The IHC had called the arrest 'legal' and later Khan was sent to 8-day custody.
Today, the top court issued the directives as a three-member bench heard Imran Khan's plea against his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case. "The court will issue an appropriate order today," Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said.
Imran Khan moved the Supreme Court against the order of IHC. Imran's counsel Hamid Khan told the apex court that his client had approached the Islamabad High Court for pre-arrest bail. Hamid further said that Imran was in the process of getting his biometrics done when he was arrested.
CJP Bandial, however, said the court records showed that the case had not been fixed for hearing. To this, the lawyer said the appeal could not be filed without completing the biometric process. Justice Minallah then said Imran had indeed entered the court premises. "How can anyone be denied the right to justice?" he asked as per Pakistan's daily Dawn.
The CJP asked Imran Khan's counsel about the number of Rangers who had carried out the arrest of the former PM. Hamid said about 100 rangers personnel entered the court premises to arrest Imran Khan. "What dignity remains of the court if 90 people entered its premises? How can any individual be arrested from court premises?" he asked.
During the hearing, the CJP said that whatever had happened after Imran's arrest should have stopped. He, however, said that this did not mean that the court should shut its eyes to an illegal action. "Such a verdict should be given that applies to all. Access to justice is the right of every accused," he said, adding that no one can be arrested from the Supreme Court, a high court, or an accountability court.
Imran Khan's lawyer Hamid said according to the law, an arrest cannot be made when an inquiry is still being carried out. Justice Minallah then said that NAB had arrested elected public representatives in a humiliating manner but he said this needed to come to an end. "The act of surrendering to the court cannot be sabotaged," he said.
Justice Minallah said the real issue was not of the NAB warrant but of the manner in which it was executed. "NAB talks about the implementation of the law but does not act upon it itself."