Imran Khan gets bail renewed for dozen cases till June 19

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
8 Jun 2023 18:24

As the government is aiming to ban the PTI, Khan could be tried by a military court, while Pakistan’s civil institutions appear to remain under the army’s influence.

In this March 16, 2020, file photo, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan gives an interview to The Associated Press, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP)

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday had his bail renewed in several cases registered against him at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), just a month after his unlawful detention resulted in thousands being arrested and several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members leaving the party.

"Imran Khan is granted bail till June 19 in eight cases registered against him under the anti-terrorism legislation," one of his lawyers, Sher Afzal Marwat, told AFP.

Another lawyer, Gohar Khan, said that a different court extended bail in nine other cases.

When the former premier was arrested in May, his arrest sparked nationwide protests, with several protesters clashing with law enforcement, and more than 7,000 people have been detained or arrested since the unrest broke out. At least 19 senior PTI officials have been arrested after they were accused of instigating violence.

As the mid-October elections are nearing, the former cricket superstar seemed to have swept the masses with his popularity, but his call for assembly dissolution and early snap elections threatened the military establishment in the country, which has for long held a tremendous amount of power in the political bureaucracy.

As the crackdowns on PTI members and protesters are ongoing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) -- the military's publicity wing -- said it plans to tighten "the noose of law" around those alleged to be involved in acts of violence.

"It has been further stressed that, while the legal trials of perpetrators and instigators have commenced, it is time that noose of law is also tightened around the planners and masterminds who mounted the hate-ripened and politically driven rebellion against the state and state institutions to achieve their nefarious design of creating chaos in the country,” a statement by the ISPR reads.

Any individual who partakes in creating "obstructions and stymies the conclusive defeat of ill-design of inimical forces will be dealt with iron hands," the statement added.

Some of the protesters that were arrested are facing trial by military courts, a practice that has widely been condemned by local and international rights groups.

In his latest address, which was broadcasted on YouTube on Wednesday, Khan said that the accusations held against him with regards to inciting violence are false, and that the attacks against military targets were "black ops" intended for authorities to arrest him and outlaw the PTI.

"I want to tell my nation that I am ready to face jail... I will never bow down to this unfair and autocratic regime," he said.

"I also request you not to bow down, as the moment you succumb to this unjust and autocratic rule, the existence of our nation will be jeopardized."

As the government is aiming to ban the PTI, Khan could be tried by a military court, as Pakistan’s civilian institutions appear to remain under the army’s influence.

Due to a collapse in the rupee, and annual inflation estimated to have hit 37% this month, a risk of sovereign default remains and the IMF already called on the government to respect constitutional means in resolving the crisis, stressing that the country must obtain “sufficient financing from partners’‘ before it releases a $1.1 billion in bail-out funds.