Imran Khan to be provided security as per status of former Pak prime minister, rules Islamabad High Court

Islamabad: A high court in Pakistan has ruled that Imran Khan should be provided security owing to his status as an ex-prime minister.

The Islamabad High Court was hearing a plea by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief regarding his security after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah allegedly threatened him.

Sanaullah, who is close to former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif, said in March that when the ruling party feels that its existence is under threat, it will go to any extent against its chief political rival.

In an apparent target to Imran Khan, he said, “The country’s politics has been brought to the level where the existence of only one of the two (PTI and PML-N) is possible.”

The court also inquired about the current security rules and how much security is currently being provided to the 72-year-old Imran Khan, according to The Express Tribune.

Khan’s lawyer told the court that the former prime minister, who survived an assassination attempt in November last year, could not appear before the court, to which Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said that Khan did not need to come to court in this case as it was only about the provision of security.

The high court chief justice questioned what the law stated about security for a former prime minister.

Munawar Iqbal Duggal, the Additional Attorney General, told the Islamabad High Court that adequate security would be provided to Imran Khan. The AAG maintained that the law stated that the security notification for a former premier should be issued through a special gazette.

When asked if any security had been provided to Khan in the past, the AAG said the former cricketer-turned-politician was given a bullet-proof vehicle.

A representative of the interior ministry said that lifetime security was supposed to be given, but the notification detailing it had not been issued.

“As long as Khan was in Islamabad, he was given foolproof security,” he said.

On the chief justice’s inquiry into the current situation, the ministry representative reiterated that security had been provided to Khan.

Khan’s lawyer stated the Wazirabad incident where Khan was shot in an assassination attempt.

The chief justice remarked that the law was the law, and security should be provided according to what it stated.

“Whatever the rule of law is, submit it to the court. A prisoner has rights if he is in prison,” he added.

The chief justice stated that the former prime minister should get security according to his status.

While seeking the security rules given for former prime ministers, the court remarked that it would issue appropriate orders when the rules were submitted.

With inputs from agencies

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