LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday adjourned the proceedings of the bail petitions of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan in eight cases of May 9 riots, following a request by the prosecution.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi heard the bail pleas.

During the hearing, a prosecutor informed the bench that an anti-terrorism court had granted permission for conducting photogrammetric and polygraph tests of the PTI founding chairman in Adiala jail, Rawalpindi, in May 9 cases. Therefore, he requested the bench to defer the bail proceedings.

Barrister Salman Safdar, the counsel of the former prime minister, opposed the postponement and pointed out that the decision to conduct these tests came after almost two years.

He argued that it was not necessary for an accused to be in jail for the purpose of investigation.

The bench, however, adjourned the hearing till May 27 and sought more arguments from both sides.

An anti-terrorism court on Nov 27, 2024 denied bail to the former prime minister in the eight cases.

The bail petitions argued that the prosecution failed to establish petitioner`s association with the events narrated in the FIRs.

They claimed the petitioner had been implicated in the May 9 cases as a result of a well-orchestrated plan merely to harass and humiliate him for

political reasons even though he was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The sole allegation against the petitioner in the cases was of ‘abetment’, which had been supplemented by the prosecution most vaguely, the pleas added.

They argued that the trial judge overlooked the fact that frivolous and baseless allegations related to the May 9 events had already been rejected due to inconsistencies in the story of the investigating agency.

The petitions asked the LHC to set aside the trial court`s decision and grant bail to the former prime minister in the eight FIRs.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2025