The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case involving gifts acquired from the state treasury, ordering his release, according to his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The case, commonly referred to as the Toshakhana 2 case, was initiated in July and revolves around a jewelry set valued at over 380.000 euros, gifted to the former First Lady by a foreign dignitary during Khan’s tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The couple is accused of undervaluing the gift and purchasing it at a reduced price from the state treasury.
Khan’s wife, who was also arrested in connection with the case, secured bail from the court last month.
Before this new case was launched, the former prime minister, who has been imprisoned since August of last year, had been convicted in four cases. Two of these cases have since been dropped, including the original one related to state gifts, while he was acquitted in the remaining two.
“Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, currently in prison, has been granted bail in the Toshakhana 2 case. The Islamabad High Court has ordered his release,” PTI announced in a statement shared with the media.
Khan’s convictions earlier this year prevented him from contesting the elections scheduled for February 8th. The former prime minister and his party claim the cases were politically motivated maneuvers by the interim government, Pakistan’s election watchdog, the powerful military, and his political rivals, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), to keep Khan and his party away from the elections. All parties have denied these allegations.
Khan, who was removed from office after a parliamentary vote in April 2022, has since waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the powerful military, which is perceived to have ties with the government.
He remains popular among the masses, especially the youth, with PTI rallies drawing thousands of supporters across the country. Over the past few months, the party has held multiple demonstrations to increase public pressure for Khan’s release, but these efforts have so far been unsuccessful.
PTI has announced an anti-government “march” to the Pakistani capital on November 24th, demanding Khan’s release from prison, the release of detained leaders and supporters, and the independence of the judiciary, which they claim has been compromised after the government recently passed the 26th Amendment.
The government argues that the recent judicial amendments aim to streamline the judiciary’s functioning and address the backlog of unresolved cases.
Photo: ANi
