Court grants Imran Khan bail in eight more cases as he calls for talks with army chief to resolve crisis

‘A politician should always be ready to negotiate with anyone’

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been granted bail by an Islamabad court in eight more cases until next month, in a big win for the politician who fought against his arrest on a slew of terrorism and corruption charges.

The chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was granted protection from arrest until 8 June while his wife Bushra Bibi was granted bail until 31 May in a corruption case by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court.

Mr Khan, who is facing nearly 150 legal cases, was dramatically arrested from outside a court and was later released on orders of the Supreme Court following widespread violence in the country by his supporters.

He was granted bail in terrorism cases after he was charged with inciting violence as hundreds and thousands of his supporters clashed with the police and attacked public property and military installations following his arrest.

The PTI chief arrived at the NAB’s office, Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency, in Islamabad on Wednesday following the court’s decision.

Mr Khan and his wife will be quizzed on the investigation of charges against him in a corruption case linked to a real-estate business tycoon, popularly known as the Al Qadir Trust case.

On Tuesday, Mr Khan was escorted by security police personnel carrying ballistic shields alongside his black car after he left the anti-terrorism court in Islamabad.

Imran Khan has been granted protection from arrested till early June (REUTERS)

The heightened security was the result of Mr Khan’s fears that he could be assassinated.

The couple has been accused of accepting the gift of property worth millions of Pakistani rupees to build a private university Al-Qadir University in exchange for providing benefits to the real estate tycoon.

In an interview with Independent Urdu, Mr Khan said he is ready to talk to the Pakistani army chief and even the Shehbaz Sharif government to “negotiate”.

“I’m a politician, I want dialogue with anyone, including the army chief or the establishment but I’m afraid it takes two to tango. There’s no one to talk to,” he said.

Mr Khan said that the prime minister of Pakistan has nothing to do with his arrest and legal cases against him, describing him as a “puppet”.

Private security members escort former Prime Minister Imran Khan (in vehicle) as he appears before a court to get extension in bails (EPA)

When asked if he was willing to negotiate, he responded: “Yes, a politician should always be ready to negotiate with anyone. Because politicians resolve differences through negotiations and not through guns”.

He said “more than 10,000 PTI workers and supporters are currently in jail without any charges”.

"They have just been picked up. They get bail from the court and are picked up again as soon as they come out of jail. Whatever is happening is illegal," he added.

Mr Khan, who had said there was an 80 per cent chance of his arrest on Tuesday, had asked his supporters to remain peaceful and not resort to any kind of violence if he is again arrested.