Court releases former Pakistani PM on bail

The Pakistani Supreme Court on Friday ordered former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s temporary release for two weeks. The court ruled Thursday that his arrest was “invalid and unlawful.” Paramilitary forces of an anti-graft government agency arrested Khan on Tuesday for corruption charges as he appeared for a court hearing for separate terrorism and fraud charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and says they are part of the current government’s attempt to discredit him. After his release, Khan said he was sure he would be arrested again. 

Are people still protesting? People took to the streets shortly after Khan’s arrest and staged protests. Khan’s supporters broke into military properties, lit the homes of some army personnel on fire, and destroyed other government property. At least 10 protesters were killed and roughly 2,000 people were arrested. Khan was ousted in April 2022 after a no-confidence vote. Since then, he has been critical of the military. 

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Sophia Lee’s report about Pakistani Christians who fled to Thailand to escape persecution by Islamic extremists.