LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday directed former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to join the investigation of cases registered against him. The order came as Khan appeared before the LHC in a plea seeking the dismissal of 121 cases registered against him.
Under strict security measures, Imran Khan appeared before a five-member larger bench of the LHC headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najfi, comprising Justice Amjad Rafique, Justice Anwarul Haq, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, and Justice Alia.
During the hearing, the public prosecutor alleged that Imran Khan was not cooperating with the investigation team in any of the cases registered against him. The bench inquired whether Khan was also not cooperating in cases where he had secured bail, to which the public prosecutor replied, “Yes, he is not joining any of the investigations.”
The bench then asked Imran Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar, “How will the matters proceed if your client will not join investigations?” Safdar replied that they have no objection to joining the investigation but his client has serious security concerns.
Later, during the hearing, Imran Khan came to the rostrum and alleged that attempts were made to “assassinate” him in Wazirabad and Islamabad. He also claimed that those who are supposed to protect him want to kill him.
The PTI Chief informed the five-judge LHC bench that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) assigned to investigate the Wazirabad assassination attempt was close to identifying the true perpetrator and uncovering the facts. However, with the appointment of the caretaker government, the JIT was replaced, and a report was issued that contradicted the actual facts.
Later, the LHC ordered Imran Khan to join the investigation in all 121 cases and sought a report from the Punjab government on May 8.
