Court grants Imran Khan protective bail till Thursday in terror case

The Islamabad High Court on Monday granted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan protective bail till Thursday in a terror case registered against him for "threatening" a female judge and senior police officers at a public rally, media reports said.

The former Prime Minister of Pakistan was booked on Sunday under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (punishment for acts of terrorism) over his comments at the rally, Dawn reported.

Earlier on Monday, Khan's lawyers Babar Awan and Faisal Chaudhry had filed a petition in the high court seeking pre-arrest bail on his behalf.

A two-member bench comprising justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Babar Sattar took up the petition and asked about the objections raised by the registrar's office.

Awan informed the court that an objection pertaining to approaching the relevant forum was raised on the plea. Justice Kayani remarked that an objection pertaining to biometrics was also raised.

During the proceedings, Awan claimed that Khan's Banigala residence has been "surrounded" and that "he cannot even approach the relevant court".

He urged the bench to grant Khan protective bail so that the relevant forum could be approached, Dawn reported.

"If the court wants to use its authority to grant pre-arrest bail, it's your jurisdiction," he added.

Justice Kayani observed that the relevant forum was the anti-terrorism court and ruled out the possibility of the high court granting Imran pre-arrest bail at this point.

The court then granted Khan protective bail till Thursday and directed him to approach the relevant court by then.