The Lahore High Court (LHC) approved the bail of ex-Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in two terrorism cases on Tuesday. The cases were filed against him in the South Asian nation's capital Islamabad, following violent clashes between his supporters and the police at a judicial complex in the city last week.
The charges lodged against him at two separate police stations in Islamabad allege Khan and officials from his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI), attacked security forces and caused chaos outside the Islamabad judicial complex on March 18.
The complaint is about the arson that took place after Khan arrived in Islamabad to appear in a court hearing in the ongoing Toshakhana trial.
Also, the charges stated that PTI members and supporters dismantled a security checkpost besides breaking the judicial complex's main gate.
They also claim that authorities arrested as many as 18 people for pelting stones at the police and vandalizing public property.
"About two police vehicles and seven motorcycles were burned, and the official vehicle of the station house officer (SHO) was damaged," the FIR said.
Khan, however, blamed state authorities for putting obstacles in his way to stop him from reaching the court last Friday.
"I reached the Islamabad Toll Plaza and they attacked my house. My wife is a modest woman… her voice is recorded in the camera," the cricketer-turned-politician told the court.
"Obstructions were set up in multiple places only so that I could not reach court," he added.
Khan maintained that he "secretly reached the court today" as he "came in a car that no one knows about, without any convoy."
After hearing Khan, the court directed the government counsel to present the details of the police operation at Zaman Park, which is the 1992 Cricket World Cup-winning captain's private residence in Lahore.
Subsequently, the two-judge bench granted protective bail to Khan until March 27.