May 9 violence: Pakistan anti-terror court extends ex-PM Imran Khan's pre-arrest bail till Feb 9 

A Pakistan anti-terrorism court on Tuesday extended the pre-arrest bail of former Prime Minister Imran Khan until February 9. This extension related to seven terrorism cases linked to attacks on military installations in May of the previous year. Jailed ex-PM Imran Khan and hundreds of his party colleagues are being tried under multiple cases, including one under the stringent Official Secrets Act in connection with the May 9 violent protests by his supporters that damaged key military installations across Pakistan. Judge Navid Iqbal of the ATC Lahore presided over the proceedings concerning Imran Khan’s bail petitions. The cases involve the May 9 attacks on various locations, including the house of Corps Commander Lahore, Askari Tower, Shadman police station, the torching of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party office, and an assault on police personnel outside Khan’s Zaman Park residence. Khan’s counsel advocate Salman Safdar told the court he would advance his arguments once the attendance of the petitioner was marked from jail on a video link. The court adjourned the hearings till February 9 as arrangements in Adiala jail were not made to mark the attendance of 71-year-old Khan. The ATC on August 11 last year dismissed the pre-arrest bail of Khan over his non-appearance as he was jailed following his conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case. Later, a high court bench set aside the decision by the ATC and restored the bail petitions. The bench had directed the trial court to mark the attendance of the petitioner through video-link from jail, keeping in view its previous order regarding the safety of the petitioner. Khan, who has been in jail since August last year, has recently been given 10, 14 and seven years imprisonment in cypher, Toshakhana and Iddat (his third unlawful marriage) cases, respectively. With inputs from PTI.