Pakistan's top court grants bail to jailed ex-Premier Imran Khan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan's top court Thursday granted bail to the country's incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan in multiple cases related to attacks on military installations in May 2023, a court record and his lawyer said.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi granted Khan's appeal against a Lahore High Court verdict, which rejected his bail application in eight cases related to the 2023 violence.

The court ordered 72-year-old Khan's release, if he is not wanted in any other case.

Khan, however, will remain in jail as he has been convicted in a corruption case.

The cricketer-turned-politician is facing a barrage of cases ranging from corruption to terrorism, which he dubs a "sham."

Several leaders and lawmakers from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, including opposition leaders in both houses of the parliament, have recently been convicted in similar cases.

Several military installations, including the army headquarters, commonly known as the General Headquarters, in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, were stormed by protesters after Khan was briefly arrested in a corruption case in May 2023.