The legal team tries to identify which cases are involved and insists that their client will be in Islamabad tomorrow for another new hearing.
March 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
A Lahore court has issued bail for former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Jan in relation to nine cases open against the former president, as yet unidentified, which in principle annuls the arrest warrants against the former leader of the country issued in respect of these procedures, although his own legal team has stressed that he has not received information about them and that right now Jan has dozens of proceedings open against him.
This decision, however, gives Jan some leeway after weeks spent virtually barricaded in his Lahore home under an arrest warrant issued late last month for refusing to appear in the so-called Toshakhana case.
In this specific process, Jan has been accused of concealing in his declarations of assets details about some of the gifts he received during his time as prime minister between 2018 and 2022, when he was dismissed through a motion of no confidence in Parliament, in the beginning of a merciless battle between the former prime minister and the authorities that now govern the country.
However, the Lahore court that has issued the bonds has not explained which cases it is referring to beyond confirming that they affect nine proceedings: one civil and eight brought under anti-terrorism legislation; a very broad regulation that includes any type of critical or threatening statement against the authorities, a constant in Jan.
Jan himself has declared himself dismayed by this legal labyrinth: “Right now as far as I know there are 94 cases open against me. It looks like the score of a cricket match,” he declared before the two Lahore judges, Fariq Salim Sheikh and Faruq Haider .
In fact, not even the Pakistani Prosecutor’s Office is aware of the cases in which bail has been declared. The State’s lawyer has limited himself to declaring that he was acting on behalf of the Islamabad authorities.
Given the situation, Jan’s legal team has called for no further disciplinary action to be taken against the ex-president while the Lahore court has announced its intention to ask for more details on the related cases through a formal petition to the Judiciary which will present the next Thursday.
Until then, according to the court, no further disciplinary action is expected against the former president. In response, and as a gesture of conciliation, Jan’s lawyers have assured that his client will be present at a new hearing scheduled for this Saturday in the Pakistani capital, this time on the Toshakhana case, “whatever happens.”
On the other hand, the high court of Lahore has granted permission to the Police to search Zaman Park, the residence of the former prime minister in the city, as part of a new investigation in relation to the fierce clashes between his supporters and the Police during on March 14 and 15, after a chaotic weekend in which the security forces unsuccessfully attempted to arrest the former president.
