By Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A Pakistani court on Thursday extended former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s pre-arrest bail in a terrorism case for one week, his lawyer said, shortly after the former premier appeared in court in person amidst tight security.
Khan’s lawyer and political aide Babar Awan told Reuters bail had been granted until Sept. 1, after which they will apply for another extension.
Police filed charges against former cricket star Khan over what they said was a threat in a speech last week when he spoke about police torture of an aide who faces sedition charges for inciting mutiny in the military.
In the speech, Khan said he “would not spare” the Islamabad police chief and a female judge who remanded his aide to police custody, adding he would take legal action against them.
Police cited that comment and said the purpose of the speech was to spread terror amongst the police and the judiciary and prevent them from doing their duty.
Khan’s bail in the matter was to expire on Thursday, but the court granted him one more week after his court appearance.
“We asked for a longer time because Imran Khan is contesting elections on many seats and he needs to go on campaign, but court gave us just a week,” Awan told Reuters.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Writing by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Tom Hogue)
