Pakistan’s Supreme Court granted bail to Imran Khan in eight May 9 riot-related cases, though he remains jailed.
PTI hailed the decision as a “victory,” but Khan still faces prison terms in the Al-Qadir Trust graft case and the state gifts case.
Khan has been in Adiala Jail since August 2023 and continues to battle multiple trials stemming from the May 9 violence and corruption charges.
Imran Khan Granted Bail By the Supreme Court Of Pakistan
Imran Khan was granted bail by the Pakistani Supreme Court. Khan will stay behind bars despite the release because of convictions in other cases, such as one involving £190 million and another involving state gifts.
Summary
Imran Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former prime minister, was granted bail by the Pakistani Supreme Court on eight instances pertaining to the riots on May 9, 2023, according to Geo News.
The decision was made at the hearing of several cases filed against Khan following the widespread demonstrations and assaults on military and governmental facilities in 2023.
The petitions were heard by a three-judge panel that included Justices Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, and Chief Justice Yahya Afridi. According to Dawn, the bench had been reorganised to consider the bail requests.
The bench was led by Chief Justice Afridi.
Khan’s PTI celebrated the ruling, using the hashtag “Victory For Imran Khan” in its post on X. Khan's 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,” said Bukhari, according to PTI reports.
Bukhari added that Khan would not be released despite the latest relief due to his conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
The Economic Times reported that despite the relief, Khan's release is unlikely soon. He has been in prison since 2023, serving a sentence in a case related to state gifts, and is also serving a sentence in the 190 million pound case.
He is still facing several additional trials related to the May 9 disturbances.
In November 2024, Khan had petitioned for bail at a Lahore anti-terrorism court in cases including the May 9 riots, which included an attack on the Lahore corps commander's home. However, the motion was denied.
According to PTI reports, he filed a challenge in the Lahore High Court (LHC), but on June 24 of this year, the court dismissed the case. Khan then appealed to the highest court to have the bail plea dismissed.
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Since leaving office in April 2022, the former premier has been the target of numerous further lawsuits.
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.
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