Pakistan’s 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.
