Lahore High Court has declared the physical remand of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder in 12 cases null and void.
A two-member bench of Lahore High Court, consisting of Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Anwarul Haq Punnu, has nullified the physical remand of the PTI founder in 12 cases related to the events of May 9. Additionally, the court has also declared the Punjab government’s notification regarding the PTI founder’s appearance via video link as void.
During the proceedings, the Prosecutor General of Punjab presented all the records before the court but failed to convince the judges with their arguments. The court repeatedly asked the prosecutor to specify the crime committed by the PTI founder and to justify the charges if any speech made by him constituted a crime. The prosecutor referred to Section 121, but the court pointed out that this section had already been declared void by the Lahore High Court earlier.
The PTI founder’s lawyer argued that the entire case proceedings were based on ill intentions. He stated that for a whole year, the investigation officers remained inactive, but suddenly decided to arrest the PTI founder in 12 cases once they managed to implicate him in two cases. Consequently, the court was requested to declare the physical remand null and void.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, the court announced its significant decision, declaring the physical remand of the PTI founder in 12 cases and the government’s notification for his video link appearance both null and void.
Previously, the Anti-Terrorism Court had granted a 10-day physical remand of the PTI founder in these 12 cases. This remand period ends today. The prosecution was supposed to present the case again for further physical remand, but since the High Court has declared it void, no further physical remand can be granted.
