Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled illegal the arrest of former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case. According to reports, the apex court ordered the immediate release of Imran Khan rejecting the government’s contention that an accountability court had already approved the former prime minister’s physical remand. The Supreme Court reportedly said that if the foundation of the arrest was illegal, a structure cannot be allowed to be built on it. The top court asked Imran Khan to approach the Islamabad High Court again tomorrow. The Supreme Court asked Khan to abide by the order of the Islamabad High Court.
A three-member apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazha was hearing the case. During the hearing, Justice Athar Minallah said that the time had come for the court to set an example for the future. He said that the manner in which Khan was arrested cannot be tolerated. This comes as a relief for Khan who was arrested from the Islamabad High Court premises on May 9 amid the heavy presence of security forces.