ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Supreme Court will take up on Tuesday (today) PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s application against rejection by the Balochistan High Court of his earlier plea seeking to quash the FIR and arrest warrants against him in the murder case of senior lawyer Abdul Razzaq Shar in Quetta.

Separately, the PTI chief on Monday furnished surety bonds against the protective bail granted by the Lahore High Court in the lawyer’s murder case.

A two-judge SC bench comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Ayesha A. Malik will take up the plea after the former prime minister’s one-page application seeking early fixing of the matter.

In his application, Mr Khan highlighted that his protective bail, earlier granted by the Islamabad High Court, was expiring on Monday and due to security and other reasons he was unable to travel to Quetta.

Imran furnishes bonds in Quetta lawyer’s murder case

Therefore, it is necessary to take up his pending petition for the suspension of further proceedings before the BHC as liberty and life of the applicant were at stake, it added.

Mr Khan requested the apex court to fix the matter as early as possible preferably on July 4 (today) in the interest of justice.

In his earlier petition, moved through senior counsel Sardar Latif Khosa, Mr Khan had argued that the BHC had, without considering the actual facts of the matter, dismissed his petition in the preliminary stage.

The petition urged the SC to set aside the high court’s June 15 order and quash the FIR as a grave miscarriage of justice has been done in the case, adding that the petitioner was a victim of malicious prosecution on part of the complainant and local police who became instrumental at the hands of political rivals of the PTI chief.

Surety bonds

Separately, the PTI chairman arrived in the Lahore High Court on Monday along with his legal team and furnished surety bonds in the office of the assistant registrar (judicial) against the protective bail.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi had on June 21 granted the protective bail to Imran Khan till July 3 subject to furnishing bonds of Rs100,000.

The bench had also directed the PTI chief to appear before the court in Quetta on the next hearing.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2023