Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan appeared virtually before the Supreme Court of Pakistan from prison on Thursday.
Khan’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle shared a photo of his appearance and added:A photo of illegally imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been posted on social media for the first time in 285 days since his court hearing today. ”
According to local news daily Dawn, Khan appeared in court via video link regarding the amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Act. Khan was arrested in August and appeared before the Supreme Court for the first time since his conviction in the Toshahana case. His political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has expressed concern about the ban on visitors to Adiala Prison, where he is incarcerated, which would prevent him from attending the Supreme Court. I suspect that this is the purpose.
Recently, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted bail in Mr Khan’s £190 million case, citing the need for further investigation into the allegations. NAB claimed that Khan’s cabinet in 2019 approved the transfer of £190 million recovered from the UK’s National Crime Agency to the Supreme Court as compensation for Bahria Town. The IHC questioned the transparency of the transaction and recommended that the trial court thoroughly examine the evidence.
In early April, the Islamabad High Court suspended Khan’s 14-year sentence on corruption charges in the Toshahana case, where he was accused of selling state gifts. PTI said the charges were baseless and praised the suspension. Despite this, Mr Khan remained in prison for other convictions, including the “cipher” case and breaches of the Marriage Act, and his defense team appealed.
Khan is currently facing multiple corruption charges and has been in prison since August.
