Pakistan’s popular former Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared before the Supreme Court via video link from prison Thursday in connection with a lawsuit he has filed against disputed amendments to the country’s anti-corruption laws.
It was Khan's first court appearance since his arrest in August 2023. The 71-year-old former Pakistani prime minister has since been prosecuted inside the prison near the capital, Islamabad.
Khan has been sentenced on highly controversial charges of graft, a fraudulent marriage, and leaking state secrets. Media crews have been barred from accessing the trials to cover and film them.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ordered the government to make arrangements for Khan’s participation in the hearing on Thursday through video link, acknowledging his request to represent himself in the case instead of using a lawyer.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party posted on social media images from inside the courtroom of what it said was the “illegally incarcerated” former prime minister. It said the pictures were screen grabs from Khan’s virtual appearance.
The Supreme Court adjourned Thursday’s hearing, with Khan not getting an opportunity to speak.
The judicial proceedings were due to be streamed live on the Supreme Court's website and YouTube as usual, but the broadcast was canceled just before the judges convened under Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s leadership.
Neither the court nor Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government explained why the hearing was not broadcast to the public.
“The judicial process demands fairness and openness. Transparency can only be ensured through public view of proceedings; refusal to stream proceedings advances unfairness and non-transparency and must be condemned,” said a PTI statement.
Khan was ousted from office in 2022 through an opposition-led parliamentary vote of no-confidence. The succeeding Pakistani government amended the anti-graft law, limiting the National Accountability Bureau's powers to investigate corrupt practices of public office holders.
The deposed prime minister has filed a petition claiming that the amendments were intended to dismiss corruption cases against influential figures, including the prime minister, the president, and other top officials in Pakistan’s current coalition government.
Since his removal from office, Khan has faced scores of lawsuits, which he rejects as frivolous. He alleges that Pakistan’s powerful military was behind them to keep him from returning to power, charges both government officials and the military deny.
Khan has appealed his convictions in higher courts, resulting in suspended prison terms and bail in some cases, but he remains in jail and faces prosecution in connection with several other state-instituted lawsuits.
His PTI-backed candidates won the most seats in national elections in February this year despite Khan being in jail, but they could not get enough seats to form a government. The split mandate allowed Sharif and allied parties to cobble together a coalition government.
