Lahore court declares Imran Khan's physical remand verdict 'null and void'
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday declared that the verdict granting physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in 9 May cases were "null and void," Pakistan-based Geo News reported.
A two-member bench, which includes justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Anwar-ul-Haq Pannu, reserved the verdict on the petitions challenging Imran Khan's physical remand. The court also declared the notification of the former Pakistan PM's appearance through the video link null and void.
During the hearing, Justice Saleem said that the suspect cannot be forced to undergo a photogrammetry test. Meanwhile, Pannu asked the prosecutor, about when he got the idea about using modern devices now, according to Geo News report.
During the hearing, Punjab's Prosecutor General, Farhad Ali Shah, said that the facility to carry out the photogrammetry test is inside the prison, and it would be an injustice to not give the prosecution a "full chance."
Shah further said, "At the end, the prosecution is blamed that it failed."
The prosecutor told the court that the probe would be impossible without the recovery of the mobile phone through which the posts were made on X and messages on WhatsApp were sent. At this, Justice Pannu questioned how the mobile phone will be recovered when the suspect is in prison.
Imran Khan has filed petitions against the anti-terrorism court's (ATC) verdict, stressing that it did not assess the records properly when granting the physical remand of the PTI founder, Geo News reported.
Last week, an anti-terrorism court granted 10-day physical remand of Imran Khan in 12 cases related to the May 9 riots. The PTI founder was remanded in three cases of Gulberg police station, five cases of Sarwar Road police station, and one case each of Race Course, Shadman, Mughalpura, and Model Town police stations.
Meanwhile, PTI founder Imran Khan has approached Punjab's top court to avoid his potential detention by the military in connection with the 9 May cases. However, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh rejectedhis plea, upholding the objection raised by the registrar's office.
The registrar of the court said that the power of attorney submitted to the Lahore High Court was not signed, Geo News reported. Imran Khan requested the LHC to ask authorities to keep him under the jurisdiction of "civilian courts". Imran Khan filed his petition through his counsel, Aziz Karamat, and mentioned the federal government and the inspectors general of police of all provinces as respondents.
On 9 May last year, violent clashes broke out across Pakistan after former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested. The protests were held in remote and major cities as the party workers were agitated due to their chairman's arrest, with Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad summoning the armed forces to ensure law and order, ARY News reported.
Moreover, army installations, including the Corps Commander's house in Lahore, had come under attack during the protests by PTI workers. Notably, the PTI founder was named as the main accused in all the May 9 riots cases.
Imran Khan, 71, who served as Pakistan's prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail since August 2023 on multiple charges, including the Toshakhana case, the cypher case and the unlawful marriage case.