Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan in eight cases linked to riots on 9 May 2023, when his supporters allegedly attacked the country's military and its installations, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said, reports Arab News.
On 9 May 2023, PTI workers took to the streets when the national anti-corruption agency, NAB, arrested Khan briefly, charging him with a land bribery case popularly dubbed the Al-Qadir trust case.
Protests were held across major cities of the country, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi.
The government claims supporters of PTI had vandalised important state buildings and damaged vehicles during the riots and ransacked military facilities.
Following the allegations, the government launched a crackdown on PTI workers, which saw nearly 2,000 people arrested and at least eight killed.
The government called on the army to help restore order and promised to try those involved in military courts.
Khan was charged with inciting the violence, among other cases related to the riots. He denies all charges.
The PTI hailed the SC ruling, using the hashtag "Victory For Imran Khan" in its post on X.
"Supreme Court has granted bail to Imran Khan for May 9th cases," the PTI said in a text message to the media. "Now bail is needed in just one more case (Al-Qadir case) for Mr.Khan to come out of jail."
Khan was handed 14 years of imprisonment and his wife, Bushra Khan, seven years in January in the Al-Qadir trust case, which charged the couple of doing illegal favours in exchange for a land given by a real estate developer during his tenure from 2018 to 2022.
Khan and Bibi had pleaded not guilty.
The Al-Qadir Trust is a non-government welfare body that the couple set up when Khan was in office.
Prosecutors say the trust was a front for Khan to illegally receive land from a real estate developer.
They said he was given 60 acres (24 hectares) near Islamabad and another large plot close to his hilltop mansion in the capital.
Khan and the PTI say the land was not for personal gain and was for the spiritual and educational institution that the former prime minister had established.
Khan says all cases against him are politically motivated.
Khan has been in jail since August 2023, when a court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts while he was in office.
The sentence barred the opposition leader from contesting in the 2024 general elections.
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