Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Pakistan's Imran Khan presses legal fight, gets protection from arrest in multiple terrorism cases

Share
ISLAMABAD -

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday pressed his legal battle before a court in the capital, Islamabad, which granted him protection from arrest until early next month in several cases where he faces terrorism charges for inciting violence.

The development comes as the authorities have been cracking down on the supporters of Khan, now Pakistan's top opposition leader. Thousands staged violence protests, and attacked public property and military installations following Khan's arrest earlier this month.

The violence subsided only days later, after Khan was released on the orders of the country's Supreme Court. Ten people were killed in clashes with the police.

Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April last year, has campaigned against the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, claiming his ouster was illegal and demanding early elections.

But Khan claims he was ousted under a U.S. plot, a charge that Washington and Sharif's government deny. Since his exit, he has stepped up his campaign to oust Sharif's government through "pressure from the people."

Since then, the 70-year-old former cricket star turned Islamist politician has become embroiled in more than 100 legal cases against him. He faces charges of graft purportedly committed while he was in office and has been charged with terrorism in eight cases over the violent protests by his supporters and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf opposition party.

After the Islamabad court on Tuesday granted Khan protection from arrest on terrorism charges until June 8, he and his wife travelled to the nearby city of Rawalpindi, where Khan appeared before the National Accountability Bureau to answer questions in a separate graft case.

After a four-hour questioning, the couple returned home to Lahore. No details were immediately available about Khan's appearance before the agency.

The couple is accused of accepting the gift of property to build a private university in exchange for providing benefits to a real estate tycoon. Khan denies the charge, saying he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were not involved in any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, in a blow to Khan, a close associate who served as a rights minister in his 2018-2022 government, announced on Tuesday that she was leaving the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and politics altogether.

Shireen Mazari has been a vocal critic of Pakistan's military and Sharif's government. She was arrested last Thursday on charges of inciting people to violence, then released on Monday, only to be rearrested again later in the evening. She was freed again sometime later and spoke at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.

"I have decided to leave active politics and I will not be a part of PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) or any political party from today," Mazari said, adding that she was quitting for health reasons. She did not elaborate.

Mazari, who also denounced the recent violence by Khan's supporters, is among several leaders from Khan's party who have quit him because of the deadly protests.

Also on Tuesday, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, another key leader in Khan's party, said at a news conference in Islamabad he is quitting the party over Khan's "politics of confrontation with the state and the military."

In Pakistan, the military has ruled for half of its 75-year history.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A B.C. woman who stole more than $14,000 in volunteer-raised funds that were supposed to be spent on school supplies and programs – including hot meals for vulnerable kids – won't spend any time in jail.

Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was among approximately 120 people who gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil near the scene of a vicious attack against a 16-year-old in Cobalt.

Dr. Ronald Weiss, who performed nearly 60,000 vasectomies on Ottawa men, establishing him as the "Wayne Gretzky" of the procedure, has died.

A 36-year-old Montreal man who was out on bail after allegedly uttering death threats against his partner is now accused of murdering her on the South Shore.

A 15-year-old boy from Kitchener, Ont. is facing a long list of criminal charges as the Waterloo Regional Police Service wraps up a lengthy swatting investigation.

Local Spotlight

For the second year in a row, the ‘Gift-a-Family’ campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.

Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.

A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.

As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.

A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts – not for themselves, but for those in need.

A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.

Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.

A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.