Pakistan court orders former PM Imran Khan released on bail

The high court in Islamabad on Friday granted protection to former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan from arrest in a corruption case and ordered his release on bail.

The ruling comes as the government and Khan’s legions of supporters are reeling after days of violent confrontations erupted earlier this week. The government has promised to find a way to take Khan back into custody, a move that could lead to riots and mass attacks.

A ruling by the Islamabad High Court granted Khan protection from arrest in one of several corruption cases against him for a period of two weeks, a form of interim bail that is usually new in Pakistan’s judicial system.

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Khan, however, remained in court after the decision, as a lawyer petitioned the judge for the same protection in some other corruption charges, trying to close the legal way for the government to arrest him again.

Khan’s lead lawyer, Babar Awan, praised the decision, saying Khan was now “a free man.”

Soon, the court said that Khan cannot be arrested in another corruption case pending against him. The former prime minister is expected to leave the court soon.

Violence erupted after the arrest

The government insists that Khan’s release rewards and encourages mass violence. After his arrest on Tuesday, his supporters attacked military installations, set fire to vehicles and ambulances and looted public shops in various parts of the country. The government responded with a crackdown, arresting nearly 3,000 people. The violence left at least 10 Khan supporters dead. Dozens of protesters and more than 200 police officers were injured.

Tuesday’s arrest was a surprising and controversial move: agents from the National Accountability Bureau entered the Islamabad High Court where Khan was attending a session on other charges – the same court where he appeared on Friday – and dragged him away, putting him in armor. vehicle.

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On Thursday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled that the detention was illegal, but asked the Islamabad High Court, a lower court, to reconsider its earlier decision to uphold the detention.

Khan, a former cricket star turned Islamist politician, was ousted as prime minister last year in a no-confidence vote in Parliament and now leads the opposition. He faces more than 100 legal cases, most of which are accused of inciting violence and threatening police and government officials.

He also faces at least three corruption charges, including allegations from the National Accountability Bureau that he received multimillion-dollar properties in exchange for giving benefits to real estate tycoons. New terrorism charges were filed against him on Thursday for allegedly inciting his followers to violence after his arrest.

After the Supreme Court ordered his release on Thursday, Khan stayed at a government guest house in Islamabad, where he met family members and friends.

The President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, also met him. Alvi has been trying to defuse tensions between Khan’s government and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to avoid escalation.