Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), received broad relief from the Islamabad High Court on Friday since the government is not allowed to detain the ousted prime minister until Monday am (May 15).
The former prime minister was granted two weeks’ bail today by a two-member special divisional bench in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. Subsequently, the court barred authorities from detaining him until May 17 in any new case brought against him until May 9 — the day he was arrested in the corruption case, which sparked deadly nationwide protests.
The judge granted him bail until May 22 in the Zille Shah murder case after he applied for transitory bail in four cases brought against him in Lahore.
Opposed to a wheelchair in which he would appear before courts earlier, a beaming Khan, sporting a stylish pair of sunglasses, arrived at IHC in tight security like a celebrity, wearing a crisp light-blue shalwar kameez and a dark blue waistcoat, as hundreds of police and paramilitary troops guarded the premises of the judicial structure in the federal capital.
A day earlier, contrary to the IHC — which termed PTI chief’s arrest “legal” — a three-member bench of the Supreme Court deemed Khan’s arrest from the premises of the high court “illegal”, directing him to appear before the IHC today.
“The manner of execution of the arrest warrant issued by the Chairman, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) dated 01.05.2023 in the Al-Qadir Trust case within the premises of the Islamabad High Court against the petitioner is invalid and unlawful,” the ruling said.
On Tuesday, May 9, paramilitary forces detained Khan on the grounds of the IHC, setting off violent protests around the nation. The former prime minister promptly requested release from the court, but it found his arrest to be lawful.
Since being removed from office in April of last year, Khan has run a turbulent campaign for early elections and levelled previously unheard-of criticism at the coalition government and military, which he holds responsible for his removal.
He has claimed that top military and government figures conspired to have him shot in the leg during a rally in November.
