BHC suspends Imran’s arrest warrants in case linked to remarks against state institutions

The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Friday suspended non-bailable arrest warrants issued for PTI chairman Imran Khan by a Quetta judicial magistrate in a case of hate speech against state institutions and officers.

On Thursday, the court of Judicial Magistrate-1 Bashir Ahmed Bazai issued arrest warrants for Imran on the basis of a first information report (FIR) registered against him at Quetta’s Bijli Road police station.

The magistrate had also instructed the police to arrest the PTI chief and present him in court. Following the court orders, a police team was constituted, comprising SSP Investigation Muhammad Umar, DSP CIA Abdul Sattar Achakzai, Inspector Abdul Hameed and others.

Over the past few days, the party has remained on high alert, tweeting out “red alert” messages to reach the Zaman Park residence to stave off arrest. On Sunday, the Islamabad police attempted and failed to arrest Imran as it tried to enforce a court summons for an indictment hearing in the Toshakhana case.

Early Friday morning, the PTI approached the Balochistan High Court (BHC), seeking the cancellation of Imran’s warrants. It also demanded that the FIR lodged against him be quashed.

BHC’s Justice Zaheer-Ud-Din Kakar conducted the hearing today and suspended the arrest warrants for two weeks after listening to arguments from the petitioner’s lawyer.

He also issued notices to the Quetta inspector general of police, director investigation, senior superintendent (legal), the station house officer and the complainant.

The hearing was then adjourned for two weeks.

Earlier today, media reports and the PTI said a police team from Quetta had reached Zaman Park to arrest Imran.

The petition

Imran’s petition was filed through his counsel Advocate Syed Iqbal Shah.

In the petition, the PTI argued that the case registered against Imran at Quetta’s Bijli Road police station was not valid since the alleged offence did not fall under its jurisdiction.

Terming actions taken by the Balochistan police as “illegal [and] unlawful”, the PTI said there was “no other efficacious, speedy, and alternate remedy available to the petitioner except to file the instant quashing petition” for redressal of his grievance“.

The petition further said that Section 20 (malicious code) of the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act 2016 (Peca) was not applicable as Imran did not “intentionally and publically [sic] display [or] transmit any information through any information system”.

The FIR

On March 6, an FIR was registered against the former prime minister at the Bijli Road police station in Quetta by citizen Abdul Khalil Kakar.

In the FIR, which Dawn.com has seen, Kakar said that Imran addressed the public from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on March 5, in which he levelled “baseless allegations against the state institutions”.

He alleged that the ex-premier’s statement was tantamount to “destroying public peace and order”. Imran has harmed the credibility of the institutions, the complainant claimed.

The complaint invoked sections 124-A (sedition), 153-A (giving provocation with intent to cause a riot if rioting is committed; if not committed) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

It also included Section 20 (Offences against the dignity of a natural person) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016.