LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday granted protective bail to PTI chairman Imran Khan and pre-arrest bail to his wife Bushra Bibi in cases of alleged forgery in sale/purchase of Toshakhana articles and a land transaction, respectively.

Mr Khan appeared before a two-judge bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi.

The Lahore High Court Bar Association President Ishtiaq A. Khan, representing the former prime minister, argued that the petitioner submitted his reply to a joint investigation team (JIT) through his counsel.

He said the petitioner had been implicated in over 100 cases on political grounds.

He asked the bench to grant protective bail to the former premier as he wanted to approach the court concerned in Islamabad.

The bench granted the bail to Mr Khan till July 4.

Bushra Bibi appeared before the court and sought pre-arrest bail in a case of illegal land allotment in Okara.

The Anti-Corruption Estab­lishment (ACE) registered the case against the petitioner, accusing her of getting land allotted in her name through forged documents.

A law officer opposed the bail petition saying the petitioner did not join the investigation of the case.

Petitioner’s counsel stated that his client wanted to join the investigation but there were apprehensions of arrest as political victimisation was at its peak in the country.

Justice Amjad Rafiq granted the pre-arrest bail to Bushra Bibi till July 6 and directed her to appear before the investigating officer.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2023