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ISLAMABAD, Feb 28 (PTI) — A Pakistani court on Tuesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, but he was granted bail in three other cases following violent riots outside the court building. The drama saw thousands of his supporters rally behind their leader.
Khan, who heads the Pakistan Justice Instigation (PTI), traveled from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore to Islamabad, his first appearance in the federal capital since he was shot dead at a public rally last November.
Read also | A Pakistani court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case.
The four cases include a Prohibition of Funding case at the Banking Court, located in the Judiciary Building here, and a terrorism case at the Anti-Terrorism Court, located in the same building.
The third, related to Toshakhana, is scheduled to take place at the Sessions Court at F-8 Kachehri, a half-hour drive from the Judiciary Building.
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The fourth case was an attempted murder case in the same court.
In the Toshakhana case, an additional judge, Zafar Iqbal, issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the 70-year-old former prime minister.
The court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Khan and adjourned the hearing until March 7 after he repeatedly failed to appear in court.
In this case, his indictment was delayed twice earlier due to his failure to appear in court.
Khan has been the target of buying gifts, including expensive Graff watches, which he received as prime minister at a discount from a state depository institution called Toshakhana, and selling them at a profit.
However, the former cricketer-turned-politician was released on bail in three other cases, even as thousands of his supporters poured into the justice building to support him, prompting security officials to step up security.
In October last year, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) filed charges in a banking court in Islamabad against Khan and other PTI leaders for allegedly accepting prohibited funds.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) found the party had concealed receipt of the money last year and disqualified Khan.
In 2014, estranged PTI founding member Akbar S Babar brought a non-funding case at the ECP.
Khan has not attended any hearings since November last year after he was injured in an assassination attempt at a rally in the Wazirabad district of Punjab province.
He has since been granted bail extended for medical reasons.
Khan was ousted in April after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he claimed was part of a US-led plot against him because of his independence of foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan .
The PTI chief, who came to power in 2018, is the only Pakistani prime minister to be ousted in a vote of no confidence in parliament.
Since his ouster, Khan has called for immediate elections to overthrow what he calls an “imported government” led by Prime Minister Sheikh Baz Sharif.
Sharif has insisted that elections will be held later this year once parliament completes its five-year term.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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