IHC bars banking court taking decision on PTI Chief’s bail

It appears that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has stopped a banking court in the federal capital from deciding on the bail petition of Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in a prohibited funding case. A two-member bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri heard the petition and barred the banking court from issuing any verdict on the bail petition. The IHC also requested that fresh medical reports be provided for Khan.

Earlier in the day, a Special Judge Banking Court had turned down Khan's plea seeking exemption from personal appearance for pre-arrest bail in the funding case. The judge had ordered Khan to appear before the court by the closing time of the day. During the hearing, Khan's counsel had sought a three-week exemption for his client and submitted an X-ray report in court, stating that the former premier was recovering from his bullet wounds.

A lawyer for co-suspects, Mian Ali Ashfaq, argued that a criminal case could not be registered on allegations of prohibited funding. He said that PTI had received funds in its bank accounts in different cities and that separate FIRs were registered in these cities. He also argued that it was difficult to go after every donor to ask about the source of their income.