£190m settlement case: IHC extends Imran Khan's interim bail till June 2

£190m settlement case: IHC extends Imran Khan's interim bail till June 2

Islamabad (Web Desk): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday extended interim bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former premier Imran Khan in £190 million settlement case.

On May 12, the IHC had granted interim bail to the PTI chief in the corruption case till May 31.

Strict security arrangements had been made during the hearings. A heavy police contingent was deployed outside the IHC premises and the Federal Judicial Complex.

Only those with special passes were allowed to enter the courtroom.

Meanwhile, Islamabad police in a post on Twitter stated that Section 144 (ban on public gatherings exceeding four persons) was still in force.

“No political activity is allowed in high security zone/Red Zone,” the police said.

Imran Khan, who had been ousted via a vote of no-confidence last year  has been facing a slew of cases, including the infamous 190 million pound settlement case related to the transfer of multi-million pounds from the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), in which his wife Bushra Bibi is also an accused.

Separately, an Islamabad accountability court on Wednesday granted the former premier bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case till June 19 against surety bonds worth Rs500,000.

Imran Khan arrived at the Federal Judicial Complex shortly after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed him to approach a relevant accountability court within three working days.

As per the Al-Qadir Trust, the PTI chief and his wife, Bushra Bibi, have been accused of obtaining billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from a real estate firm for legalising Rs50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government.

The former premier was arrested from the premises of the IHC by Rangers on May 9, after which violent protests erupted across the country.

Khan had immediately approached the IHC for release but it had declared his arrest legal.

The former prime minister then approached the Supreme Court (SC), which on May 11, termed his arrest "illegal" and directed him to appear before the IHC the next day.

Later, the IHC had approved PTI chief's bail in the case for two weeks and stopped authorities from arresting him till May 17 in any case registered in Islamabad after May 9.

On May 17, the IHC had extended its order to prevent Imran Khan’s arrest in cases filed against him after May 9 until May 31.