ISLAMABAD, Aug 21: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan in eight cases related to the May 9 violence.
Khan’s supporters resorted to vandalism and violence on May 9, 2023, after he was detained by law enforcement authorities in Islamabad.
Several cases were launched against Khan and leaders of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for their alleged role in the riots.
A three-member bench of the apex court granted Khan bail after hearing the arguments by his lawyer Salman Safdar, and Punjab Special Prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi, who represented the state.
The bench was led by Chief Justice Afridi and comprised Justices Shafi Siddiqui and Miangul Aurangzeb.
Khan’s PTI hailed the ruling, using the hashtag “Victory For Imran Khan” in its post on X, while his international spokesman Zulfiqar Bukhari said the party supremo now needed bail in just one case.
“Supreme Court has granted bail to Imran Khan for May 9th cases, now bail is needed for just one more case (Al Qadir case) for Mr Khan to come out of jail,” he said.
As Bukhari said, Khan would not be released despite the latest relief due to his conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Khan, 72, had filed a petition for bail in a Lahore anti-terrorism court in the cases related to the May 9 riots, including an attack on the house of the Lahore corps commander, but it was rejected in November 2024.
He challenged it in the Lahore High Court (LHC), but it also rejected the plea on June 24 this year. Following this, Khan challenged the dismissal of the bail plea before the top court.
The former premier has been facing multiple other cases filed against him after his removal from office in April 2022.
He has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is currently serving a sentence at Rawalpindi’s high-security Adiala Jail in the 190 million pounds Al-Qadir graft case. (Agencies)
