Islamabad, May 11, (dpa/GNA) – Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, on Thursday called off protests by his supporters, after the country’s top court ordered his release two days following his arrest on graft charges.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court in the capital Islamabad ruled that the arrest by the national anti-graft agency was illegal and the former premier should be released, his lawyer Babar Awan told media.
As is usual in such cases, there was no official notification from the Supreme Court.
Khan would not be released immediately as judges ordered him to appear before a high court in Islamabad to seek a formal bail on Friday and remain in custody until then, Awan added.
The Supreme Court held a brief hearing into a petition by Khan against his arrest Tuesday from inside the premises of a lower court in Islamabad.
The Supreme Court ordered Khan to cooperate with the investigation agency probing charges against him.
Khan immediately asked his supporters to end violent protests across the country in which at least eight people were killed and nearly 300 wounded, according to the Interior Ministry.
Life began slowly returning to normal in major Pakistani cities after two days as authorities called in armed forces in different regions to quell deadly riots.
Schools and universities have been closed since Wednesday.
After a slow start of the day in the morning, shoppers filled the markets and deserted streets were full of people by the afternoon as troops patrolled the capital Islamabad, the central province of Punjab and the north-western region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
“We have called in the army to stop violence,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told the media on Wednesday night.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned protestors in a televised address as he defended Tuesday’s arrest of Khan on graft charges.
The army’s deployment came after deadly protests on Wednesday in which at least eight people were killed and around 300 were wounded, Sanaullah said.
Khan’s violent supporters fought battles with police in several cities, and burned state buildings, public and private vehicles on Wednesday after storming key army compounds a day earlier.
A court in Islamabad remanded Khan in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an autonomous anti-graft agency, to probe a multi-million-dollar property deal involving a real estate tycoon.
Also on Wednesday, another court began Khan’s trial for allegedly stealing gifts he received from other countries as premier between 2018 and 2022.
Both the charges could end his political career and land him in jail.
Pakistani politics has been in disarray since Khan was removed in a parliamentary vote of no confidence last year.
The nation is at risk of default due to low productivity levels, with the aftermath of the disastrous flooding in September 2022 further weighing on the economy.
GNA