court grants bail to ex-PM Imran Khan

Bail was granted Friday, May 12, by a court in Islamabad to the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, after the invalidation by the Supreme Court of his arrest. “The court granted Imran Khan an interim two-week bail and ordered the authorities not to arrest him” again during this period in this corruption case, said one of his lawyers.

Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday when he was heard by a court in Islamabad in this case, then remanded in custody the next day for a period of eight days. His arrest sparked unprecedented riots across the country and at least nine people died, according to police and hospitals. But on Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled his arrest “invalid and illegal”, because it should not have been taken to court. However, she kept him in the custody of the police, responsible for ensuring his protection, until Friday’s hearing before the same court where he was arrested.

He arrived there at the end of the morning in a convoy under heavy police protection. Hundreds of police and paramilitaries were also deployed around the building. Imran Khan is thus safe from a new arrest in this case for two weeks. However, he could still be arrested for the dozens of other cases in which he is implicated, and which he denounces as an attempt by the government and the army to prevent his return to power.