Imran Khan to be arrested as soon as his protective bail ends on August 25: Pak minister

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan will be arrested on August 25 as soon as his three-day protective bail lapses, the country's interior minister Rana Sanaullah said.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will be arrested on August 25 as soon as his three-day protective bail lapses, Pakistan’s interior minister Rana Sanaullah said.

Imran Khan, who was booked for offences under the Anti-Terror Act, was granted pre-arrest bail by the Islamabad High Court on Monday. It also directed him to approach a relevant Anti-terrorism Court by then.

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According to Pakistani media reports, the interior ministry had written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's office seeking permission to arrest Khan in the terror case against him. Now, interior minister Rana Sanaullah has confirmed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chairman will be arrested on the day his bail expires.

Imran Khan was booked under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (punishment for acts of terrorism) over comments he made at a rally in Islamabad last Saturday (August 20), in which he vowed to sue police officers and a female judge and alleged that a close aide had been tortured after his arrest.

The FIR against Khan reads that in his speech, he had "terrorised and threatened top police officials and a respected female additional sessions judge" with the aim to stop them from performing their functions and abstain from pursuing any action against any individual related to his PTI party.

Earlier, Rana Sanaullah said at a press conference that the government was holding legal consultations before launching any case against Khan. He alleged that the PTI chief’s speech was a continuation of a trend to target the army and other institutions.

CONTEMPT CASE AGAINST IMRAN KHAN

Meanwhile, trouble mounted for the embattled PTI leader, as the Islamabad High Court initiated contempt proceedings against him for allegedly issuing threats to a woman sessions court judge.

The high court will hear the contempt case and the first hearing is expected on Tuesday. A notice was issued to Khan, who is also facing a terror case.

At a rally in Islamabad’s F-9 park on Saturday, Khan had threatened to file cases against Islamabad’s inspector general of police and deputy inspector general of police and declared: “We won’t spare you.”

He then warned the judiciary against its “biased” attitude towards his party, saying that it should brace itself for the consequences.

The PTI chairman also warned additional district and sessions judge Zeba Chaudhry, who had approved two-day physical remand of his aide Shahbaz Gill on the request of Islamabad Police, that she would also face dire consequences.