- Saturday, March 01, 2025
The former prime minister of Pakistan was arrested by Pakistan Rangers personnel outside the high court of Islamabad on May 9 in a corruption case.
By: Shubham Ghosh
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday (11) called the arrest of the country’s former prime minister Imran Khan in a corruption case “unlawful” and asked him to appear before the high court of Islamabad on Friday (12).
It also said that Khan, who leads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, to be “immediately released”.
The court also said that the PTI supremo would be kept at the Police Lines Guest House but would not be regarded as a prisoner. It also asked the chief of Islamabad police to ensure security of the former prime minister, Pakistan’s Dawn reported.
Pakistan’s chief justice Umar Ata Bandial said the government would have to guarantee Khan’s security.
The orders on Khan’s arrest were issued by a three-judge bench comprising Bandial, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah after it resumed hearing the former prime minister’s plea against the arrest.
The top court had ordered the country’s National Accountability Bureau to present Khan before it.
Khan was presented in court amid tight security around 5.45 pm local time and according to a Dawn report, he entered the top court through the judges’ gate.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician, who was dramatically arrested by Pakistan Rangers personnel outside the Islamabad high court on Tuesday (9) in the Al-Qadir Trust case when he went to the court for hearings, appealed to his supporters to remain peaceful after the top court passed the order.
Pakistan witnessed violence following Khan’s arrest in which at least eight people were killed, many were injured and thousands of PTI supporters were arrested.
