The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has asked the Islamabad police to arrest former Pakistani PM and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on 25 July under a non-bailable warrant issued against him on 11 July.
The new arrest warrant issued in Islamabad accuses the PTI chief of contempt of the ECP’s proceedings by repeated non-appearance.
The Warrant
In the latest orders, the ECP stated that Khan had failed to appear before the commission despite being served notices and bailable warrants on 16 January and 2 March.
The warrant directed Islamabad’s Inspector General of Police to arrest Khan and present him before the election body on Tuesday.
#ICYMI: Pakistan's election commission has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for former PM #ImranKhan, the latest in a series of legal hurdles facing the cricketer-turned-politician.https://t.co/la0cIRetZ3#Pakistan #ImranKhanPTI #PTI #arrestwarrant pic.twitter.com/ZaigvzY5c3
— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 25, 2023
The ECP initiated contempt proceedings against Khan and former PTI leaders Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry last year. In the order, the election body accused Khan of using “intemperate language and contemptuous remarks” against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja and the electoral watchdog.
It is to be noted that the PTI chief had started targeting the ECP and the CEC in his rallies after the CEC disqualified him in the Toshakhana Case.
The Toshakhana case disqualified Khan from holding public officer for five years for not disclosing details of the millions in gifts received during his tenure.
A non-bailable arrest warrant for Khan and Chaudhry was issued by a four-member ECP bench headed by Nisar Durrani in the last hearing on 11 July.
It rescheduled the hearing for 25 July with orders for Khan and Chaudhary to appear. While the proceedings for Chaudhary and Umar have been adjourned till 2 August, the ECP has asked Khan to be present before the commission on 25 July.
Khan to Appear Before Court
The PTI party handle on Twitter said the ECP’s notice was received at the residence of Imran Khan by Rai Muhammad Ali Advocate, a legal team member.
الیکشن کمیشن آف پاکستان کا نوٹس چیئرمین تحریک انصاف کی رہائشگاہ پر موصول
— PTI (@PTIofficial) July 24, 2023
نوٹس قانونی ٹیم کے رکن رائے محمد علی ایڈووکیٹ نے موصول کیا
الیکشن کمیشن نے چیئرمین تحریک انصاف سے 25 جولائی کو پیش ہونے کا تقاضا کیا ہے
چیئرمین تحریک انصاف کل الیکشن کمیشن کے روبرو پیش ہوں گے pic.twitter.com/oCl0ge6ya7
“The Election Commission has requested the Chairman Tehreek-e-Insaf to appear on 25 July. Chairman Tehreek-e-Insaf will appear before the Election Commission tomorrow,” PTI tweeted.
The warrant was issued on the same day the Supreme Court barred authorities from arresting Khan until 9 August in the case of senior lawyer Abdul Razzaq Shar’s murder in Quetta.
Cases Against Khan, Bottle Hurled During Court Appearance
Since being removed as the PM after a no-confidence motion was passed in the Parliament in April 2022, more than 150 cases, including terrorism, have been filed against Khan.
Last week, a criminal case was announced against Khan after interior minister Rana Sanaullah said the government would open criminal proceedings against the PTI chief on charges of exposing official secrets concerning diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad.
An unidentified man threw a water bottle at Imran Khan in an incident at the district and sessions court in Islamabad https://t.co/I878fGqqjQ
— WION (@WIONews) July 25, 2023
In May, widespread protests occurred in Pakistan after Imran Khan’s arrest in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case, which accused him of obtaining money and lands illegally. Later, the Pakistani apex court declared Khan’s address invalid.
Meanwhile, in a breach of security, an unidentified person hurled a bottle at Khan on Tuesday as he arrived at the Islamabad district court in relation with the Toshakhana case.