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QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Monday suspended arrest warrants and dismissed the FIR against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Gul Hassan Tareen suspended a non-bailable warrant issued by Judicial Magistrate-I in hate speech case for provocative remarks against state institutions.
The PTI chief’s counsel had challenged the non-bailable arrest warrant and the FIR in the high court, saying the case had been registered illegally. A judicial magistrate had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against the former prime minister.
The court also dismissed the First Information Report (FIR) registered against the former prime minister at Bijli Ghar police station. The FIR was lodged on the complaint of a resident of Nawa Killi.
Earlier this year in March, the BHC ordered the suspension of Imran Khan’s arrest warrants over his fiery speech against state institutions. BHC Judge Zaheer-Ud-Din Kakar conducted the hearing and suspended the arrest warrants after listening to arguments.
A local court of Judicial Magistrate-1 issued arrest warrants and directed police to arrest the PTI chief and present him before the court. A team of Balochistan police had arrived in Lahore but faced immense resistance from PTI activists who attempted to prevent his arrest.
Balochistan Police registered a case against Imran Khan for alleged hate speech against state institutions. In the FIR, the complainant maintained that Islamabad police reached Zaman Park to arrest the PTI chief but he dodged arrest and later addressed his workers through video link in which he incited masses to revolt against institutions.
It maintained that the former premier hurled baseless allegations against the chiefs of sensitive institutions putting national security at stake. It accused him of creating unrest in the country. The words of outspoken politicians damaged the prestige of institutions, it added.
