Ten members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the political party of Imran Khan, were granted bail by a counterterrorism court in Pakistan on Monday. This came about when the parliamentarians were arrested last Tuesday after a significant gathering in Islamabad, along with twenty other party members.
The court granted them 30,000 rupees ($100) in bail. The anti-terrorism legislation and a new protest law both included accusations against the 10 MPs, some of whom were detained at their National Assembly offices.
The Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, which was passed just before the event, was among the allegations. Rights organizations contend that the purpose of this regulation is to stifle peaceful protest and the right to free speech.
Government and military scrutiny of PTI has been severe since Khan's detention in August of last year. Allegations of political intentions aimed at impeding Khan's comeback to power led to his arrest.
The crackdown on PTI intensified after Khan's supporters engaged in violent protests and attacked military installations in response to his initial arrest in May 2023. This led to a widespread military-led crackdown on the party.
Khan's popularity did not waver in the face of the severe measures. Despite extensive accusations of election manipulation, his party won the most seats in the 2024 contest.
Khan was removed from office in 2022 following a reported falling out with the military. Khan first came to power in 2018 with military backing. Pakistan's politics are still dominated by the military.
This month, a group of experts from the UN chastised Khan's arrest, calling it without legal justification and speculating that its purpose was to keep him from standing for political office. The courts have overturned a number of Khan's convictions.
PTI's press and social media team members were recently arrested for allegedly spreading "anti-state propaganda," in addition to the MPs' arrests. This is part of a larger pattern of oppression directed on Khan's followers.
Deep political divisions in Pakistan are reflected in the ongoing conflict between the PTI and the military, which has been made worse by Khan's removal and the legal issues that followed.
