• Sessions court grants pre-arrest bail to PTI founder in six cases and to Bushra Bibi in one case
• ATC declares 30 PTI workers proclaimed offenders in Nov 26 protest cases

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday sought final arguments on an application seeking the closure of the X (formerly Twitter) account of the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan.

Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard the matter. Advocate Muhammad Ali Bukhari appeared on behalf of the PTI founder, while Barrister Zafarullah Khan represented the petitioner. Advocate General Islamabad Ayaz Shaukat also appeared before the court.

At the outset of the hearing, Mr Bukhari informed the court that PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja could not appear due to ill health. He stated that the court had earlier directed that a meeting be arranged with the PTI founder in jail; however, he complained that jail authorities had not facilitated the meeting.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority lawyer told the court that a report had already been submitted in the case. Justice Tahir asked Barrister Zafarullah what relief the petitioner was seeking. The petitioner’s counsel responded that they were ready to advance arguments and requested that copies of replies be provided to the other side.

Mr Bukhari contended that neither the PTI founder nor the party had received the reply. He requested time to first meet the PTI founder in jail before submitting a formal response. The court asked whether PTI intended to file a reply in the matter. Justice Tahir observed that the party was also a respondent and needed to clarify its position.

After brief exchanges, the court adjourned the hearing until the first week of May and sought final arguments from the parties.

Pre-arrest bails

In a separate development, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka approved pre-arrest bail applications of the PTI founder in six cases, and of Bushra Bibi in one case.

During the hearing, prosecutors Raja Naveed Hussain Kiani, Mazhar Bashir and Assistant Inspector General (Legal) Tahir Kazim appeared on behalf of the state, while Barrister Salman Safdar represented the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi.

Barrister Safdar argued that the delay in deciding the bail applications was unprecedented in his legal career.

He said that 63 adjournments had been granted to the state. On 30 occasions, the court had directed jail authorities to produce the accused, but compliance was not ensured. He added that five show-cause notices had been issued to the jail superintendent.

The prosecution opposed the bail pleas, arguing that there was solid evidence against the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi and that they were not entitled to relief.

During proceedings, the court asked whether the receipt related to the Toshakhana case had been recovered. The prosecution replied in the negative. Judge Majoka further questioned whether the allegedly fake receipts shown in the media had been sent for forensic examination.

After completion of arguments, the court granted pre-arrest bail against surety bonds of Rs50,000 each.

Meanwhile, an Anti-Terrorism Court declared 30 PTI workers as proclaimed offenders (POs) in cases registered at Khanna police station in connection with the November 26 protest.

At the previous hearing, proceedings had been initiated against 31 workers. However, after one PTI worker appeared before the court, proclamation proceedings against him were terminated.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2026