An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in 12 cases related to attacks on military installations in May last year.
The development came as Pakistan election results showed independents, most of them backed by Imran Khan, won a majority of the seats. However, Nawaz Sharif's party emerged as the single largest party in an election marred by delayed poll results.
Imran Khan and several leaders of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are being tried in multiple cases in connection with the May 9 violence that damaged key military installations across Pakistan.
The protests erupted after Imran Khan was arrested by paramilitary Rangers in Islamabad. Over 20 military installations and state buildings, including the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi, were damaged in the ensuing violence.
The house of Corps Commander Lahore, Askari Tower, Shadman police station were attacked while police personnel outside Khan’s Zaman Park residence were reportedly assaulted.
Hundreds of protesters linked to Khan's PTI were arrested in the days after the violence.
The former Pakistan cricket team skipper and several of his party leaders have been facing numerous cases since his ouster as Prime Minister in April 2022. Khan was removed as PM through a vote of no-confidence.
Last year, in August, Imran Khan was handed a three-year jail term in the Toshakhana case, which is related to the illegal sale of state gifts that he had retained when he was the Prime Minister.
While his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court, he was arrested in another case for leaking state secrets, known as the Cipher case. He has been handed a 10-year jail term in this case.
