Jailed former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has been acquitted by a court in two cases related to the May 9 agitation, where hundreds of Pakistanis protested against Khan’s arrest and vandalized military facilities last year.
The petition challenging the two cases was approved by Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir, and Khan was acquitted due to a lack of evidence of his involvement in the protests and vandalism.
In its verdict, the court said, "Because of insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution, the PTI founder has been acquitted."
The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician declined to apologize for the May 9 protests, saying he was under detention at the time and was unaware of the protests.
On May 9, 2023, supporters of Imran Khan protested across the country and vandalized over 20 military installations and government buildings, including the Lahore Corps Commander House, Mianwali airbase, and the ISI building in Faisalabad after Khan was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on alleged corruption charges.
Police arrested more than 10,000 workers of PTI, and at least 10 people were killed during the protests.
Khan has been embroiled in more than 100 cases after being ousted from power in 2022.