The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday accepted bail pleas from former prime minister Imran Khan on eight of the many charges against him, raising hopes among his supporters that he might be released from seemingly endless imprisonment.
Khan, now 72 years old, was prime minister from August 2018 until April 2022, when he was ousted by a vote of no confidence from parliament. Well over a hundred allegations of corruption and abuse of power followed him out of office and dogged his attempt to mount a political comeback.
Khan was arrested and jailed in August 2023 on corruption charges, ending a brief spell of apparent immunity when a mob of supporters camped outside his house and thwarted every attempt to take him into custody. Several longer prison sentences have been handed down against him while he was in jail.
Khan’s supporters did not take his arrest well. Massive protests turned into riots with numerous deaths and injuries, leading to even more charges against Khan and senior officials of his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party and hundreds of arrests. Pakistan’s powerful military-intelligence establishment, already cross with Khan, was enraged when his supporters destroyed military property.
Khan applied for bail on eight of the cases brought against him in connection with the 2023 riots, but his appeal was denied by an anti-terrorism court in his home state of Lahore in November 2024. The Lahore High Court upheld the denial in June 2025, but the Supreme Court reversed the decision and accepted bail for Khan on Thursday.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said it was “sad” to see PTI supporters celebrate Khan’s bail, since Khan is still on trial, has already been convicted on other charges, and seems unlikely to leave prison any time soon.
“So much celebration on getting bail is beyond understanding. Does receiving bail mean burial or acquittal? The answer is no,” Tarar sniffed.
Field Marshal Asim Munir, chief of the Pakistani army, was even more contemptuous of Khan’s plight earlier this week. Munir said Khan should “apologize for the May 9 violence” and “sit silently” while the current government remains in power.
PTI supporters pointed to his comments as further evidence that Khan is being persecuted by the military, which wants to wipe out PTI entirely.
“The message is clear – Khan will only be allowed political space if he apologizes and withdraws from active politics. This is less about legal cases and more about forcing him into silence,” a political analyst in Islamabad told the Times of India (TOI) on Friday.
Munir was at least kind enough to suggest Khan could sit in silence for the rest of his life at home. Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, issued a statement on Thursday claiming they have been abused in Rawalpindi prison.
Khan said he has been held in “complete isolation” without visits from Bibi, his family members, or even his legal team. Bibi claims to have suffered an “electric shock” in her prison cell, sustained visible injuries from insect bites, and received “degrading and inhumane treatment” from prison officials. Both Khan and Bibi said they have been denied adequate medical care.
“My message to the entire nation, to my workers and to the party leadership is that your captain is still standing tall with his head held high. Have no fear,” Khan said in a social media post on Tuesday.
Khan denounced the charges against him, and against supporters arrested in connection with the “false-flag” riots of May 2023, as “fascism.”
“You must stand steadfast in the face of this storm of oppression and brutality,” he declared. “Even while confined to a solitary confinement cell in this prison, I am fighting for the true freedom of my nation, and I will continue to stand firm until I free my people from the chains of slavery.”
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