Pakistan’s Supreme Court Orders Imran Khan Released

Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the immediate release of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday, a big victory for the ousted leader who was arrested on graft accusations and deepening the country’s political crisis.

The court called Khan’s arrest “invalid” in its verdict, two days after his imprisonment prompted violent demonstrations.

The ruling is a big political and legal victory for Khan, whose fans have been out in force since his incarceration. It also sets up a direct battle between the Supreme Court and Pakistan’s military, which is generally suspected of being behind his incarceration.

Khan was arrested on corruption accusations on Tuesday and remanded in detention, capping up months of political clashes in which he has fought a defiance campaign against the military establishment.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s highest judge ordered police to summon Khan before the Supreme Court in response to a petition filed by his political party opposing his arrest.

“Your arrest was invalid, so the entire process needs to be reversed,” Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial told Khan during the hearing in Islamabad. Khan testified in court that he had been “treated like a terrorist.”

On Thursday, security agents patrolled the streets of Pakistan, arresting Khan supporters.

Several thousand irate fans of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have rampaged through towns across the country for two days, torching buildings and obstructing roadways.

At least nine people have died since Tuesday, according to police and hospitals.

Hundreds of police personnel have been injured, and over 2,000 people have been arrested, predominantly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, according to authorities.

At least eight people from the PTI’s central leadership were also detained, according to Islamabad police.

To disperse the masses, security personnel used tear gas and water cannons, and on Thursday, they arrived armed with batons and riot shields.

Supporters who showed up at a protest site in Karachi were quickly rounded up, while in Islamabad, police assaulted handcuffed PTI supporters, according to AFP.

The former cricket great, who remains hugely popular, was deposed in a no-confidence motion in parliament in April 2022 after losing the support of Pakistan’s formidable military.

Khan has stated that the scores of legal charges filed against him following his ouster are part of an effort by the government and army to prevent him from resuming power ahead of the autumn elections.

The military had previously made a strongly worded statement in which it stated that it was using “extreme restraint.”

It has threatened a “severe reaction” to any additional attacks on governmental and military sites, blaming “a group that wants to push Pakistan into civil war.”

The comment was deemed “contrary to facts and the situation on the ground” by Khan’s party. Internet service was disrupted, and social media platforms were disabled.

To restore peace, the government authorised the deployment of the army in two provinces, including the most populous, Punjab, and in the capital on Wednesday. According to Islamabad police, troops entered the sensitive “red zone” where government buildings are located overnight.

According to Pakistan’s communications agency, the interior ministry has ordered the suspension of mobile internet services and the restriction of access to social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Pakistan authorities also closed schools across the country, and year-end exams were cancelled.

“People should protest, but not by setting fire to government property or harming poor people and damaging their cars,” said Syed Muzaffar Shah, 45, of Peshawar.

Pakistan is experiencing a severe economic crisis, exacerbated in part by the country’s rising political instability over the last year, with the rupee falling to a record low against the dollar on Thursday.

Khan was arrested just hours after the military chastised him for reporting that a top commander was involved in an assassination plot against him. The army has refuted the charge. Criticism of Pakistan’s military establishment is frowned upon.

Pakistani politicians have been arrested and imprisoned on several occasions since the country’s inception in 1947.

Few, though, have so directly challenged a military that wields enormous power in domestic and foreign policy, has launched at least three coups, and has reigned for more than three decades.

According to one of Khan’s lawyers, Khan appeared before a specially constituted court on Wednesday and was remanded in detention for eight days following a request by Pakistan’s top anti-corruption agency, the National Accountability Bureau.

The agency previously stated that Khan had ignored multiple court summons about alleged corruption related to a trust fund he established with his wife, a spiritual healer.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, Khan was also indicted but not detained on separate charges of misleading officials regarding gifts he received from foreign leaders while in office.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all parties involved in the issue to avoid violence.