The Shehbaz Sharif government was furious on Thursday after the Pakistan Supreme Court ruled that the former Pakistan prime minister’s arrest was unlawful and ordered the government to free him immediately.
The detention of Khan on corruption accusations in the Al-Qadir Trust case was pronounced unconstitutional by Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday. According to the Dawn daily, the court has ordered Khan’s immediate release, recognising his lawyers’ contention that his detention from the court premises in Islamabad on Tuesday was illegal.
Since his arrest, violent protests have erupted across the country, resulting in the loss of at least 10 lives and the arrest of around 2,000 individuals. The incident has further escalated tensions between Khan and the military, exacerbating an already strained relationship, following the leader’s ouster from power in April last year.
After the top court’s decision was announced, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif questioned the “double standards” in justice after the PTI chief’s arrest was termed invalid and unlawful.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the government would arrest PTI chief Imran Khan again if he gets bail from the High Court on Friday.
“We will arrest him again. If he gets bail from the High Court tomorrow, we will wait for the cancellation of bail and arrest him again,” he told Dunya TV, according to AFP.
On Friday, Khan will once again face the graft charges brought by the National Accountability Bureau, which ordered his arrest after saying he failed to respond to multiple court summonses.
Over the past few days, several thousand supporters have rampaged through cities around the country, setting fire to buildings and blocking roads, incensed by their leader’s arrest.
At least nine people have died in the unrest, police and hospitals said. Hundreds of police officers have been injured and more than 2,000 people arrested, mostly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, according to authorities.