Pakistan’s Supreme Court declares arrest of ex-PM Khan unlawful

The ex-cricketer and prime minister’s arrest on corruption charges sparked deadly protests in Pakistan.

Policemen stand guard along a roadside in Karachi on May 10, 2023. Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan will appear on May 10 in a special court at the capital's police headquarters to answer graft charges, a day after his shock arrest prompted violent nationwide protests. Picture: AFP

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has declared the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan unlawful, two days after his detention sparked deadly clashes and huge protests nationwide.

Khan was ordered to remain in the bench’s custody under police protection for his own safety until Friday local time, when he will return to the court where he was detained earlier this week.

“Your arrest was invalid so the whole process needs to be backtracked,” Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial told Khan at a hearing in the capital Islamabad.

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan. Picture: AFP

Since being ousted from office last April, Khan has waged a tempestuous campaign for snap elections and fired unprecedented criticism at Pakistan’s leaders and powerful military elite, even accusing them of plotting a November assassination attempt which saw him shot in the leg.

Meanwhile he has become tangled in a slew of legal cases – a frequent hazard for opposition figures in Pakistan, where rights groups say courts are used to quash dissent.

The one-time cricket star, who was surrounded by dozens of paramilitary troops on Tuesday and manhandled into custody on graft charges at Islamabad High Court, said he had been “treated like a terrorist”.

Security personnel move towards Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party activists and supporters of former Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran. Picture: AFP

Arrests should not take place on court premises, Bandial said on Thursday.

Khan, 70, was ordered back to the same police headquarters where he has been sequestered for the past 48 hours on the condition it should be treated as a “residence”.

“What we propose is that Islamabad police need to provide security, and he (Khan) will provide a list of his immediate family members and lawyers that should meet him at police lines headquarters,” said Bandial, denying Khan’s request to return to his farm house on the outskirts of Islamabad.

“We will arrest him again,” interior minister Rana Sanaullah told Dunya TV, in a stark admission of the grudge between the administration and Khan.

“If he gets bail from the High Court tomorrow, we will wait for the cancellation of bail and arrest him again.”

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party activists and supporters of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan shout slogans next to a fire as they block a road during a protest against the arrest of their leader in Karachi. Picture: AFP

Over the past few days several thousand supporters have rampaged through cities around the country, setting fire to buildings and blocking roads, incensed by their leader’s arrest.

At least nine people have died in the unrest, police and hospitals said.

Hundreds of police officers have been injured and more than 2000 people arrested, mostly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, according to authorities.

At least eight officials from PTI’s central leadership accused of orchestrating the protests were also detained, Islamabad police said.

Security forces have responded with tear gas and water cannon to quell the crowds and on Thursday came equipped with batons and riot shields.

Khan was ousted in April 2022 in a no-confidence vote in parliament after he lost the support of Pakistan’s powerful military. He now alleges they are colluding with the government to keep him out of power.