Pak police accuse Imran Khan, his party members of causing over PKR 500 mn loss in May 9 riots

Lahore: Pakistani police have accused incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan and his party members of causing a loss of over PKR 500 million to the state during an attack on a senior army officer's residence in Lahore two years ago, an official said on Wednesday.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder is booked in several cases in Lahore in connection with the May 9, 2023, violence, including for allegedly inciting his supporters to attack government and military buildings, which erupted after his arrest by paramilitary Rangers from the Islamabad High Court premises.

"A prosecutor in the May 9, 2023, riot cases against Mr Khan and some other members of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) told the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday that the state has suffered a PKR 520 million loss during an attack on the Lahore Corps Commander House," the court official said.

The prosecutor was giving arguments regarding post-arrest bail petitions of Imran Khan in eight cases of the May 9 riots.

Lahore's anti-terrorism court in November last year had denied bail to the PTI founder in these eight cases.

"The prosecutor argued that Imran Khan ignored the trial court’s directions and refused to undergo polygraph and photogrammetric tests, therefore, his bail petitions should be dismissed for defying the trial court’s orders," he said.

The prosecutor said those who abetted the crime were equally liable to punishment, and since being ousted from power, Khan had been inciting the public against state institutions, including the armed forces.

Khan's counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, told the LHC that the prosecution failed to establish the petitioner's association with the "unfortunate occurrences" narrated in the FIRs.

"Imran Khan has been implicated in the May 9 cases as a result of a well-orchestrated plan merely to harass and humiliate him for political reasons, even though admittedly he was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau at the time of riots," Safdar said and argued that the sole allegation against the petitioner in the cases is of "abetment, which has been supplemented by the prosecution most vaguely".

"The trial judge overlooked the fact that frivolous and baseless allegations related to the May 9 events have already been rejected due to inconsistencies in the story of the investigating agency," Khan's counsel said and urged the LHC to set aside the trial court's decision and grant bail to the former premier in these eight cases.

LHC Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi remarked that the court "doesn't want to rush into a judgment" and adjourned the hearing for June 19.

The 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been behind bars since August 2023 after he was booked in multiple cases ranging from corruption to terrorism since his ouster from power via the opposition's no-trust motion in April 2022.