Imran Khan gets bail in cases involving attacks on military installations

Imprisoned former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was granted bail on Saturday by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in relation to 12 cases involving the attacks on military installations on May 9.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party founder Khan was granted bail by ATC Judge Malik Ejaz Asif after he paid a surety bond of Rs 0.1 million in all 12 cases, including the attack on the Army Museum and General Headquarters (Pakistan Army), according to The Express Tribune Pakistan.

The court ruled that since all of the accused in the cases from May 9 were free on bond, there was no reason to keep Khan, 71, under arrest.

Khan will stay behind bars since he is found guilty in numerous other cases.

The court’s order came a day after independents backed by Khan’s party won nearly 100 seats in the National Assembly.

Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also granted bail in 13 cases in the same case. Khan and PTI stalwart Qureshi were indicted in the cases on February 6.

The two were produced before the court, where the former Prime Minister informed the judge that he was illegally arrested on May 9 from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises.

Imran Khan was booked in multiple cases related to the May 9 violence that erupted following his arrest in an alleged corruption case. The cases registered in Rawalpindi included the attack on the gate of General Headquarters (GHQ), rioting in the office of a sensitive institution and others.

Khan had denied the allegations mentioned in the cases’ first information reports (FIRs). Earlier, after his release from Adiala jail, Qureshi was whisked away by Punjab police from prison in connection with a case about the attack on the GHQ.

(with inputs from PTI)