Incarcerated former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on May 16 appeared before the Supreme Court via a video link in a case about changes in the anti-corruption laws but did not get to speak as a petitioner in the matter.

However, a leaked image of the 71-year-old founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s image showing him attending the court hearing has prompted the Supreme Court administration to initiate a probe to find out the source for the leak, The News International reported citing sources.

Khan appearing via the video link was possible after Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Tuesday while hearing an appeal by the government against annulment of certain changes in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws by the previous government had ordered the authorities to present Khan virtually for his statement.

Khan had challenged the tweaks in the NAB laws and the top court in September last year had accepted his plea which reopened dozens of cases of alleged corruption against some leading politicians, including Khan’s arch rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif.

A five-member Supreme Court larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi heard the case.

During the hearing, senior counsel Khawaja Haris, who earlier represented Imran Khan in the first round of litigation, appeared before the court for legal assistance while Makhdoom Ali Khan was present on behalf of the federal government, Dawn.com reported.

The SC, noting that the bench was unavailable next week, adjourned the hearing indefinitely, it said.

Khan appeared as a petitioner through video link in the case, but the hearing was not live streamed unlike the current practice, which had been in vogue since the top judge started it last year after becoming the chief justice. Even the previous proceedings of the case were broadcast live by the SC but not Thursday’s hearing.

Consequently, Khan’s followers could not see him live for the first time since he was arrested in August last year.

According to Dawn.com, speaking with media persons outside the Supreme Court, PTI’s senator Ali Zafar said, the case is in its “very early stages” and added, it was the Bench’s jurisdiction whether or not Khan’s statement is broadcast live.

However, his party shared the image of the purported video call on a laptop screen showing Khan seated in the e-court room wearing a light-blue shirt.

The News International quoted sources to report that the SC authorities have started the investigations to ascertain how the image was leaked and added that the police will take action against whoever is found involved in this “as this was done in violation of the courtroom rules.”

“Directions have been issued to review the CCTV footage and identify the person who captured the image. After this, the frame size of the video link was minimised,” it said.

Khan’s party said in a statement that there was no live streaming from the apex court as the registrar maintained that it was the prerogative of the bench to decide.

“Judicial process demands fairness and openness, (and) transparency can only be ensured through public view of proceedings. Refusal to stream proceedings advances unfairness and non-transparency and must be condemned. CJ has changed the process unilaterally and has discredited his own decision that brought him fame soon after he took over,” it said.

Khan has been charged in several cases, including cypher and unlawful marriage, and has remained imprisoned even though he had obtained bail in some other cases.

He was arrested in August last year and since then has been incarcerated, first in the Attock Jai and now in Adiala Jail and out of sight.

His appearance in court comes a day after two courts granted him relief in separate cases, including the Al-Qadir Trust matter. A division of the high court led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri granted him bail in the RS 60 billion case, while Judicial Magistrate Suhaib Bilal Ranjha also acquitted him in a case registered against him at the Khanna police station in connection with the Azadi March in 2022.

Despite the relief, his party showed apprehensions about a ban on visitors in the Adiala jail, saying the move aimed to keep Khan away from the apex court proceedings.

A three-member bench of the apex court in September 2023 had approved Khan’s petition challenging amendments made to the country’s accountability laws during the tenure of the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A Pakistani court on May 15 granted imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan bail in a graft case. However, he won’t be released as he is serving multiple prison terms in other cases, his party spokesman and officials said.

The still-popular Khan has more than 150 other lawsuits filed against him since his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in 2022. Last year, Pakistan witnessed violent demonstrations after his arrest and the government has heavily clamped down on his supporters and party ever since.

The bail decision on May 15 came two months after Khan was indicted for accepting a piece of land that business tycoon Malik Riaz gifted the former premier and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in return for favours. The prosecution at the time said Khan allowed Riaz access to 190 million British pounds ($240 million) in laundered money, that the British government repatriated to Pakistan in 2019, to pay heavy fines instead of the funds being deposited in a state-owned account.

Zulfiqar Bukhari, chief spokesperson for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party hailed the verdict in a statement, saying Khan could not be freed because his bail applications “in some other bogus cases that are still pending.”

Khan has repeatedly denied all charges against him and claimed his ouster was a plot by rivals.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan‘s supporters and analysts believe that his party still could win most seats in parliamentary elections, which are expected to be held in the last week of January. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Lawyers for Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday opposed his closed-door trial in a case in which he is accused of revealing state secrets after his 2022 ouster, saying it’s aimed at convicting the popular opposition leader quickly.

Salman Safdar, who represents Mr. Khan, said the trial should be held in an open court. He made comments outside the high-security Adiyala prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where the former cricket star turned politician is facing a trial on charges of revealing official secrets.

The case is related to his speech and waiving of a confidential diplomatic letter to a rally after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in parliament in 2022. At the time Mr. Khan showed a document as a proof that he was threatened and his ouster was a conspiracy by Washington. He accused the military and then-Premier Shehbaz Sharif of implementing a U.S. plot, a charge denied by U.S. officials, the Pakistani military and Mr. Sharif.

The document, dubbed Cipher, has not been made public by either the government or Khan’s lawyers but was apparently diplomatic correspondence between the Pakistani ambassador to Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

Also Read | Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi guilty in cipher case: FIA

Mr. Khan is currently facing more than 150 cases, including charges ranging from contempt of court to terrorism and inciting violence, and was given a three-year sentence on corruption charges in early August. Later that month, an Islamabad High Court suspended that sentence in what amounted to a legal victory for Mr. Khan.

Mr. Khan’s deputy in his Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf party, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, is also a co-accused in the case. Mr. Khan has not made any public appearance since August, when he was arrested after his conviction in a graft case.

On Wednesday, the special court briefly heard the case against Mr. Khan and adjourned until October 9, when Mr. Khan is likely to be formally indicted. According to Mr. Khan’s lawyer Naeem Panjutha, authorities wanted to ensure a quick conviction and sentencing of the former premier ahead of parliamentary elections.

Despite his ouster, Mr. Khan still has a huge grassroots following in Pakistan.

Mr. Khan’s supporters and analysts believe that his party still could win most seats in parliamentary elections, which are expected to be held in the last week of January.

Currently, Mr. Khan is not eligible to run for parliament due to his conviction in a graft case.

Security officers escort Pakistani former Prime Minister Imran Khan as he appeared in Islamabad High Court, Islamabad, Pakistan, on May 12, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s jail detention related to charges of leaking state secrets was extended for another two weeks, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

The jail custody has been extended until September 26, his lawyer Naeem Panjutha said in a post on X messaging platform, formerly Twitter.

Khan has been in prison since early August, having earlier been convicted on corruption charges and sentenced to three years.

A high court last month suspended his sentence, but a prior order for his remand in custody in the state secrets case prevented his release.