Imran Khan’s interim bail in May 9 mayhem cases restored

LAHORE: A sigh of relief for the incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan as his interim bail was restored by the Lahore High Court (LHC) in seven cases related to the May 9 riots.

The high court, in its verdict on Tuesday, ordered the trial court to give a verdict on Khan’s interim bail pleas.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Aalia Neelum announced its judgement reserved on the disqualified prime minister’s plea challenging the cancellation of bail in seven cases related to the May 9 events.

The verdict comes after an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had rejected the petitions seeking bail extension for the politico, who was ousted from his office through a parliamentary vote in 2022, in seven cases, including the May 9 riots and the attack on Jinnah House.

The trial court’s judge Ijaz Ahmad Butar had given the verdict on August 11 last year, after hearing arguments from both sides.

The incarcerated politician and the top leadership of his party are facing a plethora of cases ahead of the February 8 nationwide polls. Besides, the Imran-led party has also faced a blow after losing its legal battle to get back its iconic “bat” electoral symbol and the legality of its intra-party elections.

A major voter driving force was taken away after the top court's verdict, followed by another setback as the party — PTI-Nazriati — with which it sought an alliance also backtracked from its commitment earlier this month.

But as the embattled PTI faces uphill tasks, its major rivals — the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — have already commenced nationwide campaigns and distributed tickets for national and provincial constituencies.