Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan and founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan to challenge the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision to deny him bail in multiple cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots. According to Geo News, the LHC had previously dismissed Khan’s bail petitions in eight separate cases, including one concerning the attack on Lahore’s Jinnah House—an incident that occurred during violent nationwide protests following his arrest.
In his petition, Khan argued that the First Information Reports (FIRs) filed against him lack credible evidence and that he was in National Accountability Bureau (NAB) custody at the time of the protests, making his involvement physically impossible. He also highlighted contradictions in the prosecution’s statements and claimed that law enforcement deliberately delayed his arrest, suggesting the investigation was carried out in bad faith. Furthermore, Khan noted that several co-accused individuals have already been granted bail while the evidence against him remains insufficient. The petition also challenged the reliability of delayed police statements and urged the court to consider these factors in reevaluating the bail denial.
The Supreme Court petition follows a June 24 ruling by a two-member LHC bench led by Justice Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and contests an earlier verdict by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on November 27, 2024, which also rejected Khan’s bail in the same set of cases. The legal proceedings stem from the May 9 unrest that erupted after Khan’s arrest on the premises of the Islamabad High Court in a corruption case. The resulting protests quickly turned violent, with demonstrators targeting civil and military installations, including the Corps Commander’s residence in Lahore and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
Imran Khan, who was ousted from office through a no-confidence vote in April 2022, has since been entangled in multiple legal battles involving charges of corruption, terrorism, and sedition. He has been incarcerated since August 2023, following convictions in several cases ahead of the February 2025 general elections. While some PTI leaders and supporters have secured bail in connection to the May 9 events, Khan remains in custody, maintaining that the charges against him are politically motivated and unsupported by concrete evidence.