Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled that former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was recently arrested, should be released. Pakistani media report this on Thursday afternoon. The arrest of the 70-year-old former head of government has led to unrest and riots in the country for days.
Khan was arrested on Tuesday in connection with a university he founded, for which pieces of land were allegedly changed hands illegally. The former prime minister, also leader of the largest opposition party, called the arrest an attempt to sabotage his political campaign and prevent him from organizing demonstrations. His party called the arrest a “kidnapping” and called for protests, to which thousands of supporters responded.
Read here more about the lawsuits pending against Khan
Khan now seems to be right: the Pakistani Supreme Court called his arrest “illegal”. Khan himself said at Thursday’s hearing that he was beaten with sticks and also spoke of a “kidnapping”.
Khan points to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition as the culprit behind his arrest. In November, the opposition leader was shot in the leg during a protest march. According to Khan, a senior Pakistani soldier is responsible for this.
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