ISLAMABAD (AP) — Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan continued his legal battle Tuesday before a court in the capital Islamabad, which granted him protection from arrest until early next month in several cases in which he was charged with terrorism for inciting violence.
The authorities have launched a campaign against supporters of Khan, who is now the main opposition leader. Thousands of people took part in violent protests and attacked public property and military installations after Khan’s arrest earlier this month.
The violence did not subside until several days later, when Khan was released by order of the country’s Supreme Court. Ten people died in clashes with police.
Khan, who was ousted by a vote of no confidence in parliament in April last year, has campaigned against the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, demanding early elections and saying his departure from government was illegal.
Since then, the 70-year-old former cricket star turned Islamist politician has been embroiled in more than 100 legal proceedings against him. He faces charges of corruption allegedly committed while he was in government and has been charged with terrorism in eight cases over violent protests by his supporters and his opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
After the Islamabad court granted Khan shelter from arrest on terrorism charges until June 8, he and his wife traveled to the nearby city of Rawalpindi to appear before the National Accountability Office to answer questions about another case of corruption.
The couple is accused of accepting as a gift property to build a private university in exchange for favoring a real estate magnate. Khan rejects the accusations, saying that neither he nor his wife, Bushra Bibi, had been involved in any wrongdoing.