By ABDULLAH 
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has once again delayed the hearing of bail petitions filed by PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the May 9 riots cases, after the government’s special prosecutor suddenly fell ill.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, along with Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, was scheduled to take up Khan’s petitions challenging the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) June 24 verdict, which rejected his bail pleas in eight separate cases linked to the May 9 violence.
At the start of Wednesday’s hearing, the court was informed that Special Prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi had developed food poisoning and could not attend. The prosecution requested an adjournment until next week, but CJP Afridi dismissed the plea, directing that the matter would instead be heard tomorrow at 10:30 am.
The Chief Justice also rejected an application by Imran Khan’s sisters seeking permission to address the court during proceedings.
This postponement comes a day after the bench delayed proceedings to carefully review additional documents submitted by Khan’s counsel, Advocate Salman Safdar, who argued that verdicts from anti-terrorism courts should also be considered.
CJP Afridi remarked that both the prosecution and the defense must file their documents in time, as a fair review is necessary before deciding on bail.
The LHC, in its June 24 ruling, rejected Khan’s bail requests after observing that the former premier allegedly conspired to incite attacks on military installations in anticipation of his arrest. Testimonies from two police officials were cited in the judgment.
Imran Khan later challenged the LHC decision in the Supreme Court, which first took up the case on July 29. The apex court has since been navigating procedural complexities, including document reviews and representation from both sides.
The Supreme Court will resume hearing the case on Thursday (August 21, 2025) to determine whether Khan will be granted bail in the May 9 cases, a development that holds significant political weight amid ongoing tensions between the PTI founder and the government.