Today, Friday, a court in Islamabad released former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, 70, after the Supreme Court overturned his arrest warrant, which caused riots across the country.
"The court granted Imran Khan two weeks' bail, and ordered the authorities not to arrest him again during this period, as part of a corruption case," Khawaja Harris, one of his lawyers, told reporters before the court.
Khan was granted conditional release in a number of other cases.
The court decided that he should not be arrested again, before Monday, in any of the other ten cases he is being prosecuted for, or in the case of acts of violence committed by his supporters this week.
Khan was arrested last Tuesday while a court in Islamabad was hearing his testimony in a corruption case, and then placed in pre-trial detention the next day for eight days.
However, the Supreme Court confirmed that his arrest was "invalid and illegal," and considered that "this arrest came at the initiative of the Anti-Corruption Office, and violated his rights to resort to the judiciary," because "it should not have happened in a court." The court decided that today, Friday, he would appear again before the court, where he was arrested.
On Thursday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah announced that "Khan will be arrested sooner or later."
For his part, Khan says that he is "subject to judicial harassment at the push of the government and the army to prevent his return to power."
Rights activists say Pakistani courts are often used to stifle political dissent.
It is noteworthy that Khan was ousted from power after a vote of no confidence in Parliament last April, and since then more than 100 lawsuits have been filed against the 70-year-old opposition leader, including charges of “terrorism, incitement to violence and graft.”
Since his overthrow, Khan faces several legal measures, knowing that he is still very popular, and hopes to return to power in the legislative elections scheduled for next October.
It is noteworthy that at least 8 people were killed, and as many as 290 were injured, in clashes across Pakistan, over Khan's arrest.
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