Islamabad, Feb 10: Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, was granted bail on Saturday by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in connection with twelve counts pertaining to the attacks on military sites on May 9. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party founder Khan was granted bail by ATC Judge Malik Ejaz Asif after he paid a surety bond of Rs 0.1 million in all 12 charges, including the attack on the Army Museum and General Headquarters (Pakistan Army), according to The Express Tribune Pakistan. The court ruled that since all of the defendants in the instances from May 9 were free on bond, there was no reason to keep Khan, 71, under arrest. Khan will stay behind bars since he is found guilty in numerous other cases. The ruling by the court was issued the day after Khan’s party-backed independents secured around 100 seats in the National Assembly.In thirteen instances within the same case, bail was also granted to Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the former foreign minister. On February 6, Khan and legendary Qureshi were indicted in the counts. When the two appeared in court, the former prime minister told the judge that he had been forcibly detained on May 9 from the grounds of the Islamabad High Court (IHC). After his detention in an alleged corruption case, Khan was charged in several charges pertaining to the May 9 violence. The assault on the General Headquarters (GHQ) gate, rioting in the office of a sensitive institution, and other incidents were among the cases that were reported to Rawalpindi.The claims made in the initial information reports (FIRs) about the instances had been refuted by Khan. Prior to his release from Adiala Prison, Qureshi was escorted out of jail by Punjab police in relation to a case involving the attack on the GHQ.
