Pakistani court bars party of jailed former PM from rallying on eve of visit by Belarus president

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A court in Pakistan’s capital has barred the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding a planned rally in Islamabad on Sunday on the eve of an official visit by the president of Belarus.

The ruling Thursday was a setback for supporters of Khan who planned to stage a massive rally ahead of the three-day visit of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, which starts Monday, to demand the former prime minister’s release. It was not immediately clear whether Khan’s party would withdraw its call to hold the protest.

The court has asked authorities to inform Khan’s party about the sensitivity of Sunday when authorities will be making arrangement to receive Lukashenko who will be in the capital along with a 60-member delegation on Monday. The court also asked the government not to allow any rally or sit-ins in the capital on that day.

Pakistani authorities have already banned rallies in the city for two months for security reasons, and the government has vowed that it would not allow anyone, including the supporters of Khan, to violate the ban.

Khan was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament and he has been held in a prison for more than a year after his first conviction in a graft case.

Thursday’s court order came a day after another court granted bail to Khan, but with a slew of other charges pending against him, the opposition leader is staying behind bars.

Khan has so far been embroiled in over 150 cases and has been sentenced in several, including to three years, 10 years, 14 years and seven years to be served concurrently under Pakistani law. His convictions were later overturned in appeals but he cannot be freed due to other, pending cases against him.