The CCTV footage of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9 from Islamabad High Court has reportedly been stolen.
The Islamabad High Court has expressed anger at the information of CCTV footage being stolen from the court premises. Justice Mian Gul Hassan said it is weird that there was absolutely no one to stop those people (the thieves) when they were leaving with the CCTV recordings.
Justice Hassan is one of the judges of the division bench, which heard and ruled on the PTI chief's bail plea on Friday.
According to reports, all the CCTV footage from May 9, of Imran Khan seated in the Biometrics room and the Pakistan Rangers breaking in through the windows, is stolen. This was informed by the administration of the Islamabad High Court to the judges.
The whole CCTV system from the control room has been stolen and the judges seemed alarmed that absolutely no one could see the perpetrators leaving with the CCTV system. The only footage available are those that were recorded on mobile phones at the time of the arrest.
Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday in a corruption case on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). He was forcefully arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court where he was present for biometrics before the hearing of a corruption case.
Following this, widespread violent protests were reported in the nation by the supporters of the former prime minister.
Earlier today, Khan’s arrest was deemed “illegal” by the country’s Supreme Court. The order was passed by a three-member bench comprising of Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah. They expressed anger at the way Khan was taken into custody from the premises of the Islamabad high court.
CJP Bandial termed Khan's arrest from the court premises a disgrace to the country's judicial establishment, a local media reported.
Following this, the Islamabad High Court granted two weeks protective bail to the former PM. The court further ordered that Khan is not to be arrested in any case until May 17. The court also ordered not to arrest him in any case filed after May 9.
