Pakistan: Arrested after pro-Imran Khan rally, 10 MPs granted bail by anti-terror court

Sept. 16, 2024, 7:18 a.m.

Read time estimation: 3 minutes.

  1

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan granted bail Monday to 10 lawmakers from jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, an AFP journalist witnessed.

At least 30 people from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party – including the 10 MPs – were remanded in custody last Tuesday, two days after they led a major rally in the capital, Islamabad.

The anti-terrorism court granted them bail of 30,000 rupees ($100).

PTI has faced a widespread crackdown since Khan was imprisoned in August last year on multiple charges he claims are politically motivated and intended to prevent him from holding power.

Advertisement The 10 MPs, some apprehended at their offices in the National Assembly, were charged under a new protest law and the anti-terrorism legislation.

The individuals were accused of breaching the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, enacted just days before the rally, a move that rights groups say was an attempt to restrict freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration.

There has been ongoing tension between PTI and the military since Khan's removal from office two years ago.

The confrontation came to a head after the former cricket star’s first arrest on corruption charges in May 2023.

His supporters waged days of sometimes violent protests and attacked military installations, sparking a sweeping crackdown on PTI led by the army – Pakistan’s most powerful institution.

But the clampdown failed to diminish Khan’s popularity and candidates backed by the former premier won the most seats in 2024 polls – marred by allegations of widespread rigging.

Khan's ascent to leadership in 2018 was facilitated by the military, according to experts, but he was removed from office in 2022 after an apparent disagreement with the military leadership.

A United Nations panel of experts found this month that his detention “had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office”.

Numerous legal decisions against him have been overturned by judicial bodies.

Several members of the PTI’s social media and press team were rounded up last month and accused of “anti-state propaganda”.