Islamabad: Imran Khan has been released from custody after Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled his arrest was unlawful.
Supreme Court chief justice Umar Ata Bandial declared the former prime minister was wrongfully arrested earlier this week after paramilitary forces bundled him into a van outside a court.
“Your arrest was invalid so the whole process needs to be backtracked,” the judge told Khan at a hearing on Thursday.
Khan told the court he had been “treated like a terrorist” before he was allowed to leave the court in Islamabad.
The arrest of the former cricketer turned politician on Tuesday sparked violence in Pakistan as his supporters broke into the headquarters of the army in a show of defiance against the military.
On Thursday followers of Mr Khan were seen dancing near the court building in celebration of his anticipated release, as the judge urged for calm amid growing turmoil in the country.
Thousands of enraged supporters of Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party responded to his arrest by embarking on a two-day rampage through several cities as they set fire to buildings and blocked roads in protest.
At least nine people have died since Tuesday, police said.
Hundreds of police officers have been injured and more than 2,000 people arrested, mostly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, a spokesperson added.
