LAHORE: A Punjab government lawyer on Thursday told the Lahore High Court that the minutes of a provincial cabinet’s meeting, which decided to prosecute Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf founding chairman Imran Khan and other leaders of his party on charges of involvement in the May 9 riots, had not yet been signed.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Farooq Haider was hearing a petition of Imran Khan challenging the decision of the provincial government.

A law officer appeared on behalf of the government and informed the bench that the minutes of the meeting in question had not so far been signed. He asked the bench to adjourn the hearing for a week so that a detailed report could be furnished.

The bench allowed the request and adjourned the hearing till June 25.

The petition filed through Advocate Sardar Latif Khan Khosa said the Punjab cabinet on May 24 approved the nomination of PTI leaders in additional cases of May 9 protests.

It said the decision was made in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of the petitioner’s arch rival Nawaz Sharif.

It alleged that both federal and provincial governments wanted to implicate the former prime minister in fake cases.

It asked the court to set aside the impugned decision by the Punjab cabinet for being illegal, without jurisdiction, mala fide and of no legal consequence.

The Punjab cabinet had approved fresh legal action against the former prime minister and other PTI leaders for ‘building a hate-narrative against state institutions’.

According to Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari, Mr Khan had constantly been peddling a narrative against state institutions, which was why the provincial cabinet had decided to take action.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2024