Pakistan's Imran Khan gets bail in state gifts case
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The former Prime Minister of Pakistan faces a variety of other allegations and has been imprisoned since August 2023.
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Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan after appearing at the high court in Lahore, on March 17, 2023 (AFP)
A Pakistani court granted release to imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case involving the alleged selling of illicit official goods - known as the Tokhashana case, according to his party on Wednesday.
The 71-year-old has been imprisoned since August 2023, but it is unclear when he will be released considering that he faces a variety of other accusations, including the claim of inciting violence against the state.
"If the official order is received today, his family and supporters will approach the authorities for his release," Salman Safdar, a lawyer representing his party, told reporters. Safdar noted that, as far as he knew, Khan had been granted bail or acquitted in all of his cases.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, informed Geo TV that Khan did not have bail in cases in which he is charged with planning riots by his supporters in the wake of his arrest in May last year.
In July, a Pakistani court nullified the convictions and seven-year prison sentences of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, suggesting that he might be released after almost a year in prison.
Despite the ruling, he was swiftly re-arrested due to his alleged involvement in riots from the previous year. Additionally, his political party indicated that his wife, Bushra Bibi, might also face re-arrest related to an ongoing corruption investigation.
Authorities have registered over 150 cases against him, including charges of inciting violence, and his troubles only intensified after his arrest in May 2023.
The allegations against Khan originated when he revealed a confidential document during a rally, emphasizing it as evidence of threats and asserting a US conspiracy in his ousting.
The document, known as Cipher, has not been publicly disclosed by the government or Khan's lawyers but is purportedly diplomatic correspondence between the Pakistani Ambassador to Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.
Pakistan capital at standstill as Khan supporters protest
Last month, Pakistan's capital was closed down and surrounded by security forces with mobile internet cut off as supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan stormed the streets in protest.
Khan was forbidden from running in the February elections, which were plagued by claims of cheating and hampered by hundreds of court proceedings.
However, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has defied the crackdown by holding frequent demonstrations against the government. On Friday, PTI activists began driving to Islamabad from the power base in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province but were confronted by shipping container barriers and tear gas canisters.
Scattered convoys drove into Islamabad, defying the government's approval of soldiers for street deployment, claiming the need to provide security ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, which begins on October 15.
"I am so proud of all our people," Khan wrote in a statement post on X on Saturday afternoon. "You showed unfaltering resilience and courage as you came out yesterday and overcame unbelievable obstacles."
