Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled that former prime minister Imran Khan’s dramatic arrest on corruption charges this week was illegal.
The court ordered Mr Khan’s immediate release. His lawyers had argued that his detention from court premises in Islamabad on Tuesday was unlawful.
At least 10 people have killed, and 2,000 arrested as violent protests have swept the country.
Tuesday’s arrest escalated growing tensions between him and the military.
The opposition leader ousted in a confidence vote in April last year. He has brought to court on the orders of Pakistan’s top judge.
As Mr Khan arrived in court, media ran through the corridors to capture his first public appearance.
Surrounded by security, Mr Khan said nothing as he walked to the wood-panelled courtroom filled with officials from his party and journalists.
Mr Khan stood surrounded by his lawyers before the three Supreme Court judges. As they told him that because of the way he had arrested on Tuesday – inside a court complex, conducting biometric tests – the arrest was invalid.
Footage of his arrest showed paramilitary forces seizing Mr Khan, injured in a gun attack last year, and dragging him from inside court premises before whisking him away in an armoured vehicle.
Courts’ Hearing
“Your arrest was invalid so the whole process needs to be backtracked”. Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial told Mr Khan. He would now be under the protection of the Supreme Court.
It was then Mr Khan’s turn to speak, defiant and indignant at the way he had arrested.
Seven senior PTI leaders are among those arrested. They include former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who police say “incited violence”. In a statement Mr Qureshi denied this and urged supporters to continue with peaceful protests.
Mr Khan has been kept at a police guesthouse in the capital since Tuesday, which was turned into a makeshift court on Wednesday where a judge formally charged him with corruption for the first time in the dozens of cases he faces. He pleaded not guilty.
Conviction would disqualify the former international cricket star – prime minister from 2018-2022 – from standing for office, possibly for life. Elections are due later this year.