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The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday adjourned the proceedings of the bail petitions of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in eight cases of the May 9 riots. The court's decision came after the prosecution made the request, Dawn reported.
A two-judge bench led by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi heard Khan's bail pleas. During the hearing, a prosecutor said that an anti-terrorism court had permitted conducting photogrammetric and polygraph tests of Khan in Rawalpindi's Adiala jail in the May 9 cases and requested the bench defer the bail proceedings. Imran Khan's lawyer, Barrister Salman Safdar, opposed the postponement and questioned the decision to carry out these tests after almost two years. He said an accused didn't need to be in prison for the probe. However, the bench adjourned the hearing till May 27 and requested more arguments from both sides. On November 27, an anti-terrorism court denied bail to Imran Khan in eight cases. The bail petitions said that the prosecution was unable to establish the petitioner`s association with the events narrated in the FIRs, Dawn reported. They claimed that the petitioner had been implicated in the May 9 cases due to a well-orchestrated plan merely to harass and humiliate him for political reasons even though he was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The pleas further argued that the sole allegation the petitioner faces in the cases is 'abetment,' which the prosecution supplemented most vaguely. They stated that the trial judge did not consider the fact that frivolous and baseless allegations related to the May 9 events had already been rejected due to inconsistencies in the investigating agency's story, Dawn reported. The petitioners requested the Lahore High Court to set aside the decision of the trial court and give bail to PTI founder in the eight FIRs. On Thursday, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan denied any deal over former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's case, saying that political issues must be settled through talks instead of clandestine pacts, The Express Tribune reported. Speaking outside Parliament House, Gohar Ali Khan said that "no deal has been made" with any quarter regarding Imran Khan's case. He further said that all negotiations should remain confidential and constitutional. When asked about reports that Imran Khan had agreed to hold talks with the government, the PTI chairman said he had relayed the Pakistan Prime Minister's invitation but would not share details regarding the discussions held at Adiala jail. He emphasised that genuine progress in national politics relied on discretion and sincerity and warned against media sensationalism. He said, "Political matters must be resolved through talks." (ANI)
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