ISLAMABAD — The Pakistan Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) petition challenging the Islamabad High Court’s decision to term party chief Imran Khan’s arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as “legal”, media reports said.
Following Khan’s arrest on Tuesday from inside the high court premises, PTI vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi summoned an emergency meeting of a seven-member committee to review the situation and devise a comprehensive strategy to secure the safe and early release of the PTI chief, Geo News reported.
The senior PTI leader had announced the party’s plan to move the apex court.
PTI’s legal team headed by the party’s senior vice-president Fawad Chaudhry submitted the petition.
However, after the party submitted the petition, the registrar’s office returned the petition minutes after it was submitted.
The registrar’s office stated that the PTI chief did not approach the relevant forum, adding that he could file an intra-court appeal.
It further stated that the petition did not have the signatures of the PTI chief, Geo News reported.
Speaking to the media outside the apex court, Fawad said: “As soon as Imran Khan was arrested, a legal and constitutional crisis was created in the country.”
He added that an economic crisis would also arise in the country. The PTI leader then said that arson and violence were not the way of PTI and that they could not “afford” to set buildings on fire. — IANS
