Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to the jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and a populist leader in eight cases related to the May 9 violence.
His supporters had carried out widespread violence on May 9, 2023, after he was detained by the home security agency in Islamabad. Several cases were filed against Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders, for their role in the riots.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court granted bail to Khan after hearing the argument presented by this lawyer, Salman Safdar, and Punjab Special Prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi, who represented the state.
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The bench was led by Chief Afridi and comprised Justices Shafi Siddiqui and Miangul Aurangzeb. Khan’s party hailed the ruling, using the hashtag “Victory for Imran Khan” in its post on X, while his international spokesman, Zulfiqar Bukhari, said that their leader would now require one more bail for complete freedom.
He said, "The Supreme Court has granted bail to Imran Khan for the May 9th cases; now bail is needed for just one more case (the Al Qadir case) for Mr Khan to come out of jail."
Though the spokesperson said that Khan would not be allowed to walk free since his conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Khan, 72, a Populist leader in Pakistan, had filed a petition for bail in the Lahore anti-terrorism court in the cases related to the May 9 riots.
The former prime minister has been facing multiple other cases filed against him after his removal from office in April 2022.
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