PTI supporters heave a sigh of relief
Pakistan
Diehard supporters of the PTI have expressed their jubilation
LAHORE (Web Desk) - Diehard supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday expressed their jubilation over the relief extended to Imran Khan by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
In a dramatic turn of events, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, along with two other judges, ordered release of PTI chief Imran Khan after declaring his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case illegal.
The PTI official Twitter account states, "the nation of Pakistan welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court which annulled the arrest of Chairman Imran Khan."
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Former Sindh governor Imran Ismail welcomed the decision by saying "Pakistan Zindabad," while PTI leader Babar Awan said Imran Khan was now in the Supreme Court's custody.
Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute Director for the Wilson Center, praised the Supreme Court for blazing an independent trail during the political crisis, saying, "Pakistan’s Supreme Court has blazed an independent trail during the recent stages of the political crisis. It has pushed back on government plans to delay provincial elections, and now it has questioned the legality of Imran Khan’s arrest."
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PTI’s Usman Dar hails ‘historic decision’.
Ex-wife of Imran Khan also shared a tweet stating her satisfaction over the release of Imran Khan. In a tweet, she said "Finally sense has prevailed"
Imran's appearance in court:
Imran Khan was before court on Thursday on order of Supreme Court. Mr Khan said he was tortured while being arrested, adding that he was baton-charged.
He said even a murderer was not treated in such a pathetic way. “Terrorism cases were lodged against me despite the fact that I had been under arrest,” he added. "I had been taken into custody as if I were a terrorist," he said.
He went on to say that how a party, that was seeking elections, could stage violence in the country. He said he was sorry to know what happened in the country [after his arrest], he said. “I have always asked PTI activists to stay peaceful,” he added.
The court subsequently ordered Mr Khan to approach the IHC - the court that had declared Mr Khan's arrest "legal" - by Friday and bound the PTI chief to follow the order of the court.
