Pakistan court rejects Imran Khan's bail plea in May 9 cases
A Pakistani court on Tuesday (June 24, 2025) rejected former Prime Minister Imran Khan's petitions seeking post-arrest bail in eight terrorism cases related to the May 9 riots.
Mr. Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder, is booked in several cases in Lahore in connection with the May 9, 2023, violence, including for allegedly inciting his supporters to attack government and military buildings, which erupted after his arrest by paramilitary Rangers from the Islamabad High Court premises.
"The Lahore High Court (LHC) has rejected all bail petitions filed by the founder of PTI in connection with eight cases related to the May 9, 2023 cases, including Jinnah House/Lahore Corps Commander House attack and arson incidents," a court official told PTI.
A two-member Bench of the LHC headed by Justice Shehbaz Rizvi announced the verdict on the bail petitions filed by Mr. Khan in eight cases.
The Bench reserved its judgment on Monday after concluding the hearing. The eight cases include the Jinnah House attack, the Askari Tower attack, the burning of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PTI-N) office, the setting of Shadman police station on fire, the burning of police vehicles near Jinnah House, and arson at Sherpao Bridge.
The Anti-Terrorism Court Lahore had earlier rejected Khan's bail pleas in these cases, after which he challenged its decision in the LHC. A counsel for Mr. Khan said that he would challenge the Lahore High Court's decision in the Supreme Court.
Mr. Khan has been in jail for nearly two years in multiple cases.
Separately, his party alleged on Tuesday that Khan has been kept in solitary confinement and his cell's electricity is cut off.
"Imran Khan remains in isolation, denied the basic facilities he is legally entitled to," PTI senior leader Zulfi Bokhari said in a post on X.
Bokhari, who is Khan's close aide, said that "grave violations" of prisoner rights continue against Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.
"Once again, Imran Khan was only permitted to meet a few carefully selected individuals, while most of his legal and political team was barred from entry. In the sweltering heat, cutting off electricity has become a cruel routine," he said.
Bokhari, a former federal minister, added that Bushra's 14-year-old daughter was made to stand outside the prison for five hours on her first attempt to visit her mother—only to be denied the right to meet her.
"What kind of society or dictatorship punishes a child like this? Bushra Bibi has been gravely unwell for the past week. Despite this, she has deliberately been given a broken air cooler that doesn't work—amounting to deliberate psychological and physical torment," he said.
Criticising the government led by the military establishment, Bokhari said: "Even Saddam Hussein showed more decency toward his opponents. What we are witnessing is a complete collapse of human rights and morality."
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