ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan appeared at court for a bail hearing on Friday (May 12), after the Supreme Court ruled unlawful his arrest this week that triggered deadly clashes across the country.
“Your arrest was invalid, so the whole process needs to be backtracked,” Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial told Khan at a hearing in the capital Islamabad on Thursday.
Khan was ordered to remain in the bench’s custody under police protection for his own safety until Friday’s court appearance.
He arrived in a high-security convoy at Islamabad High Court, where hundreds of police and paramilitary troops have been deployed.
The government has vowed to re-arrest Khan should he be denied bail, setting the stage for more unrest.
Since being ousted from office last April, Khan has waged a tempestuous campaign for snap elections and fired unprecedented criticism at Pakistan’s government and powerful military who he blames for pulling him from power.
He has accused senior military and government officials of plotting a November assassination attempt that saw him shot in the leg during a rally.
Meanwhile has become tangled in a slew of legal cases – a frequent hazard for opposition figures in Pakistan, where rights groups say courts are used to quash dissent.
The onetime cricket star was arrested on Tuesday at the Islamabad High Court on the orders of the country’s top graft agency.
But on Thursday, the Supreme Court said the arrest was unlawful because it took place on court premises where Khan had intended to file a bail application.
Khan, 70, was ordered back to the same police headquarters where he has been sequestered since his arrest on the condition it should be treated as a “residence”.
Source: CNA
