‘Imran Khan guilty of planning the May 9 attacks,’ Pakistani court said

Lahore:

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been found “guilty of inciting attacks” on military installations, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s House, the government prosecutor told an anti-terror court on Friday.

However, ATC Lahore extended Imran Khan’s pre-arrest bail in five terrorism cases to 8 August.

“A special prosecutor told ATC on Friday that a Punjab Police Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has completed its investigation into the May 9 attacks on military and state buildings and found Imran Khan guilty of abetting and other terrorism charges,” a court official told PTI.

Khan appeared in court amid tight security.

Prosecutor Farhad Ali Shah said Khan is guilty of planning the May 9 attacks and his arrest is needed to gather evidence.

He said the head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had led a campaign and incited party workers against the army before the May 9 attacks. That incitement led to the attack on the military installations, he said.

ATC Judge Abher Gul Khan extended Mr. Khan’s pre-arrest bail until August 8 and ordered the prosecutor to present further arguments at the upcoming hearing.

Following Imran Khan’s arrest by paramilitary Rangers, riots broke out in Pakistan on 9 May, burning down and vandalizing dozens of military and state buildings, including the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the ISI building in Faisalabad.

Police have arrested more than 10,000 PTI workers and more than 100 are on trial under the Army Law.

Khan denied planning or inciting the attacks, saying it was a well-planned plot to oust his party from the upcoming elections.

The military establishment managed to carve out two political parties, the Istekham-i-Pakistan Party and the PTI Parliamentarians, from the PTI when dozens of their leaders joined the new parties.

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