Pakistan SC Grants Bail to Imran Khan
Relief in eight cases but ex-PM remains jailed in Al-Qadir graft case.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan in eight cases related to the May 9, 2023 violence, in which his supporters resorted to vandalism after his arrest.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Afridi, and comprising Justices Shafi Siddiqui and Miangul Aurangzeb, granted bail after hearing arguments from Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar and Punjab Special Prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) hailed the verdict on social media with the hashtag “Victory For Imran Khan.” His international spokesman Zulfiqar Bukhari noted that the PTI chief now required bail in only one more case — the Al-Qadir Trust graft case — to be released.
“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,” Bukhari said.
The 72-year-old leader has been imprisoned at Adiala Jail since August 2023 after being convicted in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. He had earlier filed bail petitions in the Lahore anti-terrorism court and the Lahore High Court, both of which were dismissed before he approached the Supreme Court.
Khan, ousted from office in April 2022, continues to face multiple cases ranging from graft to terrorism, making his political future uncertain despite Thursday’s relief.