On Friday, a special court granted permission to the police to interrogateformer Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah MehmoodQureshi regarding the May 9 events.
Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, who issued the orders, emphasized that thispermission was solely for a lawful investigation. The May 9 events involvedviolent protests that erupted when PTI Chairman Khan was initially arrestedin a corruption case within the premises of the Islamabad High Court.
Subsequently, the government detained several PTI leaders as part of acrackdown on those who had damaged state properties and vandalized militaryinstallations.
Earlier in the week, a special court operating under the Official SecretsAct indicted Khan and Qureshi in the cipher case. Both suspects arecurrently incarcerated in Adiala Jail. At the request of a Rawalpindipolice officer, Judge Zulqarnain allowed the inclusion of the two suspectsin the investigation at Adiala Jail.
The judge inquired whether they had been part of the investigationpreviously, to which the police officer responded negatively, explainingthat their interrogation was pending until statements from co-accused wereobtained.
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The police had a Federal Investigation Agency report related to the eventsof May 9, and after reviewing the cases against the two suspects, SpecialCourt Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain approved the police’s request.
On the same day, the Islamabad High Court rejected Khan’s bail petition inthe cipher case, ruling that the Official Secrets Act could be applied tohis actions.
The judgement addressed both Khan’s bail request and the quashing of theFIR in a single ruling due to the lengthy arguments presented in the case.