EX PREMIER IMRAN KHAN GRANTED BAIL BY PAKISTANI COURT

Tue 21 February 2023:

In a case involving the encouragement of violence, a Pakistani court on Monday granted protective bail to the former prime minister Imran Khan.

The Lahore High Court’s two-judge bench granted the former premier a 10-day bail and directed police not to detain him until March 3.

Khan has been involved in a number of legal proceedings since he was forced out of office last year, including this one in which he is accused of inciting violence during a protest late last year outside the office of the country’s top election authority, despite the fact that he was not present at the demonstration.

The latest development comes after an anti-terrorism court in the capital Islamabad dismissed his bail last week for continuously failing to attend hearings.

The former cricketer-turned-politician came at the courthouse on Monday with hundreds of supporters, and it took him at least an hour to get to the courtroom while being surrounded by anti-riot police.

Footage aired on local broadcaster Express News showed his supporters chanting slogans and showering his bulletproof vehicle with rose petals.

Khan, who came into power after winning the 2018 election, was removed from office in April 2022.

He blames his unceremonious exit on a U.S.-backed conspiracy, an allegation that Islamabad and Washington have repeatedly refuted.

He survived an assassination attempt last November, while leading a protest march toward Islamabad to pressure the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to call snap elections.

The Sharif government has rejected Khan’s demand, maintaining that elections will be held as scheduled in October this year.

Khan, who was wounded in both legs, is currently residing at his Lahore home, where hundreds of his followers have set a camp to prevent his arrest.

He is the country’s only prime minister to be deposed through a no-confidence vote.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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