Pakistan’s Supreme Court Rules to Free Former Prime Minister Khan, Rules Arrest Was “Invalid”

On Thursday, the Supreme Court declared that the arrest of Imran Khan earlier in the week, a move which provoked deadly demonstrations throughout the South Asian nation, was “illegitimate and void”.

Pakistan’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial declared that Khan’s arrest was invalid, thus necessitating a backtracking of the whole process. Khan has been held in custody since Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the court ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to bring the ex-prime minister to court.

At approximately 5:45 pm local time on Thursday, Khan was brought to court with stringent security measures in place. His legal team had filed an appeal against his arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) two days before.

Violent protests have erupted across the nation in response to the shocking arrest, causing the government to deploy the military to help bring back peace and order.

The atmosphere remained tense on Thursday with paramilitary forces and law enforcement officers patrolling the streets of major cities.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by Khan, has seen its supporters launch attacks on military establishments, burn down various state buildings, and destroy other assets.

As of Thursday, the authorities have arrested 3 senior leaders of the PTI party, along with a total of nearly 2,500 people. Sadly, at least 11 people have been killed and dozens more have been injured.

A video posted by an Islamabad police representative showed military vehicles with guns mounted on them parked along a street and soldiers with assault rifles in their hands.

In two of Pakistan’s four provinces, mobile data services were kept suspended, schools and offices were closed, and social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram were all blocked.

Since Khan was removed from power in April 2022 after losing a confidence vote in parliament, over 100 police cases have been filed against him by the government.

President Arif Alvi, a senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, expressed his alarm, shock and deep distress regarding the current state of affairs in Pakistan.

In April of last year, Khan was removed from power and subsequently accused a “foreign power” (which was widely believed to be the United States) of being behind a “conspiracy” to overthrow his democratically elected government.

Khan asserted that a “foreign power” had dispatched millions of dollars to opposition parties in order to generate a no-confidence ballot against him in the legislature.

The ex-premier has expressed his apprehension that, if taken into custody, he may be in danger, and that the authorities are looking to incarcerate him so as to stop him from running in a ballot.

One year ago, Khan was injured in the leg while attending a political gathering. Prior to that, efforts to take Khan into custody from his residence in Lahore led to confrontations between his followers and law enforcement.