Imran Khan and PTI Leaders Acquitted in Protest Case

A district and sessions court in Islamabad, Pakistan, has acquitted Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and several other leaders in a case related to protests against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s Toshakhana verdict in 2022. The verdict, announced by Judicial Magistrate Yasir Mehmood, was reserved last week on petitions seeking acquittal.

Other leaders acquitted in the case include Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Sheikh Rasheed, Asad Qaiser, Shehryar Afridi, Faisal Javed, Raja Khurram Nawaz, and Ali Nawaz Awan. PTI lawyers, Advocate Sardar Masroof and Advocate Ansar Kayani, represented the former Prime Minister and others in court.

Imran Khan has been facing numerous charges, including corruption and terrorism, since his removal as Prime Minister in 2022. He has been in jail since last August and was convicted in some cases ahead of a nationwide election earlier this year. The ongoing case keeping him behind bars is the Iddat or un-Islamic marriage case, which is expected to conclude within this month.

On June 27, a court in Islamabad declined the pleas of Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to suspend their seven-year sentences in the Iddat Case. The verdict led to protests in Islamabad and criticism in Karachi. Additionally, Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi has asked the government and jail administration to respond to Imran Khan’s request to meet his sons, Qasim and Sulaiman, in Adiala Jail.