On March 21, 2023, Imran Khan, the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was granted protective bail by the Lahore High Court in terrorism and corruption cases filed against him. Khan had filed two petitions seeking bail in terror cases through his lawyer Salman Safdar, which were heard by Justice Shehbaz Rizvi and Justice Farooq Haider. The court had directed Khan to ensure his appearance if he wanted the court to hear his plea. During the hearing, the court awarded Khan protective bail until March 27.

Khan is facing several legal cases, including one that prompted a failed attempt to arrest him after a court issued warrants for his arrest for not appearing before it. Islamabad’s Counter-Terrorism Department and Police Station Golra Sharif had filed cases against Khan and several other PTI leaders following clashes between PTI workers and police outside the Federal Judicial Complex. According to the police, the protesters resorted to arson and vandalism and attacked law enforcement officials who were performing their duty. As many as 18 people were arrested.

Khan had also filed a plea seeking protective bail in two cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against him. During the hearing, Khan said that the court cases and ongoing litigations had occupied all of his time preventing him from electioneering and awarding tickets to his party’s candidates as the poll date was drawing near. The court approved his bail for 10 days.

During the hearing of his contempt petition against the police operation at his Zaman Park residence, Khan told the court that police smashed the window panes of his house while his wife was alone inside. He said that he used a decoy vehicle to make it to the court for security reasons and no one knew about it. The court directed the prosecutor to appear with instructions related to the Zaman Park operation and adjourned the hearing till the next day.