LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday gra­n­ted interim protective bail to former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi till June 26 in cases pertaining to alleged corruption in road projects.

While granting the interim protective bail, the LHC also directed them to appear before relevant courts before the next hearing.

The former prime minister was booked in two cases by the Anti-Corrup­tion Establishment (ACE) on charges of misappropriation of funds in the construction of roads in Dera Ghazi Khan and Sahiwal, while a case was registered against his wife Bushra Bibi for alleged corruption in another road project in Okara.

Strict security arrangements were made on the court premises for the appearance of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi.

However, Advocate Isht­iaq A. Khan appeared on their behalf and apprised the court that his clients wanted to join the investigation to prove their innocence.

When asked about reasons for seeking bail a month after they had been booked, the counsel said the petitioners had no inf­ormation about the cases.

Expressing serious appr­e­hensions about their arr­ests, he told the court that police had been deployed outside their residence and sought bail in the cases.

The court granted the bail for this weekend, with the direction to his clients to appear before the relevant courts before the next hearing.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2023