Two days after his incarceration provoked widespread protests and deadly violence, Pakistan's Supreme Court announced on Thursday that the former prime minister Imran Khan's arrest was illegal.
According to one of his aides, Khan is still under the court's supervision for his personal protection and will appear again on Friday.
On Tuesday, Khan was taken into custody on Tuesday for alleged corruption in a quick operation that noticed cops force their way into a courthouse in the nation's capital, Islamabad.
https://www.highrevenuegate.com/m9277ezv?key=72c423ba761357bfb96975bca4997c14He was subsequently detained in a guesthouse inside the police headquarters, where he appeared on Wednesday for a special hearing before a court behind closed doors before being ordered to remain in jail for eight days on a charge made by Pakistan's anti-corruption agency.
Khan's attorneys had filed a petition requesting that the proceedings against their client be held at the police department's main building rather than a courtroom.
In order to ensure law and order, officials stated that keeping Khan isolated from the general public was the best course of action.
Following his detention, protests pitting his followers against army supporters turned into violence, resulting in eight fatalities and hundreds of arrests.
The former prime minister is charged in a separate case with selling gifts given to him by foreign leaders while in government as well as with illegally purchasing property to build a university.
The former prime minister said in a pre-recorded video posted on YouTube by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI political party that he had been "detained on incorrect charges" and urged his supporters to "come & struggle to defend their rights."
Dangerous showdown
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician’s arrest escalated what was already a tense showdown between the military and Khan’s supporters that had been simmering for months.
The largest protests took place in the cities of Lahore and Peshawar, both political strongholds for Khan, and saw crowds clash with security forces.
The Radio Pakistan national broadcaster's Peshawar headquarters was invaded by hundreds of protesters, who set fire to the structure.
More than 300 people have been hurt, according to officials. According to a government source who asked to remain anonymous and spoke to CNN on Thursday afternoon, at least 650 individuals were also detained in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police said nearly 1,000 Khan supporters had been arrested in the country’s most populous Punjab province, according to Reuters.
Private schools were required to close nationwide, and other nations, including the US, issued travel warnings. In an effort to control the chaos, the government blocked mobile internet services, which prevented users from accessing Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Popular apps and digital payment systems have also been disrupted.