The Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered this Thursday the “immediate” release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan after declaring his arrest last Tuesday “illegal”, carried out with a violent military operation that caused protests throughout the country.
The decision was made in a brief hearing called at the last minute by the highest court, which had previously expressed doubts about the manner in which the arrest was committed, which was legalized by the High Court of Islamabad after it was carried out.
The session was held thanks to the ultimatum of the Pakistani chief of justice, who this afternoon demanded that the authorities present Khan in the courtroom in one hour.
The judges “opined that due process of law was not followed when Imran Khan was arrested”, he said before EFE a judicial official from the highest judicial body, Ishtiaq Ahmed.
“The nation of Pakistan welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court that annulled the arrest” of Imran Khan, said the party of the charismatic leader, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), after learning of the decision of the judicial authorities .
The 70-year-old politician was arrested on Tuesday by the security forces for a corruption case when he went to court to request bail for another of several cases brought against him.
The PTI responded to his arrest by calling on all its supporters to take to the streets to protest, some demonstrations that, although mostly peaceful, degenerated into attacks on military headquarters, state institutions and officers’ residences.
These riots caused at least eight deaths and hundreds of injuries, in addition to more than 1,600 arrests, including several PTI leaders accused of inciting violence.
In response to these incidents, the authorities decreed various exceptional measures such as the suspension of mobile internet services throughout the country for an indefinite period or the deployment of the Army in the most populated region of the country.
(With information from EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com