Yet another setback for PTI Chairman Imran Khan
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On Friday, a special court granted permission to the police to interrogate former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi regarding the May 9 events.
Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, who issued the orders, emphasized that this permission was solely for a lawful investigation. The May 9 events involved violent protests that erupted when PTI Chairman Khan was initially arrested in a corruption case within the premises of the Islamabad High Court.
Subsequently, the government detained several PTI leaders as part of a crackdown on those who had damaged state properties and vandalized military installations.
Earlier in the week, a special court operating under the Official Secrets Act indicted Khan and Qureshi in the cipher case. Both suspects are currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail. At the request of a Rawalpindi police officer, Judge Zulqarnain allowed the inclusion of the two suspects in the investigation at Adiala Jail.
The judge inquired whether they had been part of the investigation previously, to which the police officer responded negatively, explaining that their interrogation was pending until statements from co-accused were obtained.
The police had a Federal Investigation Agency report related to the events of May 9, and after reviewing the cases against the two suspects, Special Court Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain approved the police's request.
On the same day, the Islamabad High Court rejected Khan's bail petition in the cipher case, ruling that the Official Secrets Act could be applied to his actions.
The judgement addressed both Khan's bail request and the quashing of the FIR in a single ruling due to the lengthy arguments presented in the case.
