Khan’s party challenges Pakistani court ruling implicating him in May 9 riots
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Thursday announced it would challenge a lower court’s decision rejecting three bail pleas filed by party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan in last year’s riots case, declaring there was “reasonable” evidence implicating him.
On May 9, 2023, suspected supporters of his PTI party attacked and vandalized government and military facilities after Khan was briefly arrested in a land acquisition case. The attacks came just over a year after Khan clashed with Pakistan’s powerful military, accusing it of conspiring with rivals to oust him in parliamentary polls in April 2022. The military and the political party Khan blames have denied the allegations.
Since the May 9 riots, a government-led crackdown has arrested hundreds of PTI officials and leaders on charges of involvement in the riots, some of whom remain in detention awaiting trial. The military has also begun court-martial trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the riots. Many of Khan’s closest aides have since abandoned him under what is widely believed to be pressure from the military, which denies any political interference.
Khan and other key leaders of his party are widely believed to have masterminded the riots, but the former prime minister has distanced himself from them and said they were used as a ploy by political opponents and the military to crack down on his party, arguably the most popular in Pakistan – a charge they deny.
“The party will definitely challenge the verdict,” PTI said in a text message sent to reporters on Thursday about the verdict of Lahore’s Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) rejecting Khan’s bail plea in three cases on May 9. “The verdict contained no evidence that Imran Khan had ordered the violence on May 9.”
The ATC had on Saturday reserved its verdict on Khan’s bail plea in three cases relating to attacks on Jinnah House, the residence of the top military commander in Lahore, Askari Tower and Shadman Police Station.
The party said ATC Judge Khalid Arshad had rejected the PTI founder’s bail petition due to “interference and speculation”.While ATCs in other parts of the country, including Rawalpindi and Sargodha, had dismissed May 9-related cases against Khan, the Lahore ATC had declared him the “principal accused”, the party said, adding that this was another “politically motivated case” being used to prolong Khan’s “wrongful imprisonment”.
Khan has been jailed since August last year after being convicted in at least four separate cases, but two of the sentences were suspended and he was acquitted of the third.
ATC ruling
Pakistan’s anti-corruption authorities arrested Khan on the grounds of the Islamabad High Court on May 9 last year, sparking nationwide protests by his supporters. The case involves allegations that Khan and his wife received land worth 7 billion rupees ($24.7 million) from a property developer accused of money laundering in Britain while he was prime minister. The government has said that British authorities returned 190 million pounds ($240 million) to Pakistan in connection with the money laundering scheme, but that Khan did not retain the money and instead returned it to the developer.
Following his arrest on May 9, Khan’s PTI party called on its supporters to “Shut Down Pakistan”, tweeting: “Fellow Pakistanis, it’s your time. Khan has always been on your side. Now it’s time to stand up for Khan.”
Hundreds of Khan’s supporters have blocked cities and major highways across the country as police took to the streets, rallies were banned and communications networks were cut off. There have been earlier attempts to arrest Khan at his home in Lahore, leading to violent clashes between his supporters and police.
The ATC court, in its order dated July 9, said it had instructed party leaders to stage protests and damage military installations if Khan was arrested. It also quoted Khan’s video message from just before his arrest in which he said Sri Lanka would be in a “worse state” than Sri Lanka if he was arrested.
“Two prosecution witnesses were present at the meeting to hatch the criminal conspiracy at Zaman Park. [Khan’s Lahore home] by the petitioner on May 7 and May 8 last year. [Khan] “The petitioner himself has instructed the petitioner and other senior leadership of the PTI regarding how to deal with the threat of arrest and the resulting protests and damage to military installations,” the court order said.
The order highlighted that another meeting of top PTI leaders was held at Lords Hotel on May 1 last year and “decided to seal off Malred Chowk and Kachafuli Chowk to resist the move of army officials.”
“you [PTI leaders] “Under the leadership of Dr Yasmin Rashid, PTI workers will be mobilised to attack military installations, government facilities and militant organisations to demand the release of Mr Khan,” the court order said, reportedly conveying the party’s plan of action if Mr Khan is arrested.
“The petitioner, along with the other accused, is liable as part of the mob and with a common intent to commit a heinous crime against the state. [bail] The petition deserves to be rejected…
“The extraordinary concession of pre-arrest bail is made to an innocent person and not to the petitioner (Khan) who hatched and realised the criminal conspiracy,” it said. […] “Wage war against the nation to overthrow its government,” the order read.
The court concluded that there was a “reasonable basis” to link the petitioner with the alleged acts and cited that as a reason to reject Khan’s application for pre-arrest bail and revoke his interim bail.