Tuesday, the ex-prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, continued his legal battle before a court in the capital, Islamabad, which granted him protection from arrest until the beginning of next month in a number of cases in which he faces terrorism charges for inciting violence.
The development comes as the government has been clamping down on Khan’s supporters, who are now the principal opposition leader in Pakistan. Following Khan’s detention earlier this month, thousands engaged in violent demonstrations and assaulted public property and military installations.
The violence subsided days after Khan’s release on the instructions of the Supreme Court.
Ten individuals were slain during conflicts with police.
Khan, who was removed from office by a motion of no confidence in Parliament in April of last year, has campaigned against the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, alleging that his removal was illegal and calling for early elections.
Since then, the 70-year-old former cricket star-turned-Islamist politician has been the subject of more than one hundred legal proceedings. He is accused of corruption allegedly committed while in office and has been charged with terrorism in eight cases in relation to the violent protests by his supporters and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf opposition party.
Khan and his wife traveled to the nearby city of Rawalpindi to appear before the National Accountability Bureau to answer questions in a separate corruption case, after a court in Islamabad on Tuesday granted Khan protection from arrest on terrorism allegations until June 8.
The couple is accused of accepting a donation of land in exchange for providing benefits to a real estate mogul. Khan denies the accusation, claiming that he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were innocent.
