A HIGH court in Islamabad granted former prime minister Imran Khan protection from arrest in a corruption case today, and ordered him to be freed on bail.

The ruling came as the government and Mr Khan’s supporters were on edge after days of violent confrontations following his arrest earlier this week. 

The government has vowed it will find a way to take Mr Khan back into custody, a move that would likely cause a resurgence of riots and mob attacks.

Today’s ruling by the Islamabad High Court gave Mr Khan protection from arrest on one of several corruption cases against him for a period of two weeks, a form of interim bail that is usually renewed in the Pakistan judicial system.

Mr Khan however remained in the court after the decision as his lawyers petitioned the judges for similar protection in a number of other corruption charges, trying to close off a legal avenue for the government to arrest him again.

Mr Khan’s chief lawyer, Babar Awan, praised the ruling, and said the cricketer-turned-politician was now a free man.

A short while later, the court said Mr Khan could not be arrested for the time being in other pending corruption cases against him. 

The government contends that Mr Khan’s release rewards and encourages mob violence. 

After he was arrested on Tuesday, his supporters attacked military installations, torched cars and ambulances, and looted general stores in various parts of the country. 

The government responded with a brutal crackdown, arresting nearly 3,000 people. The violence left at least 10 of Mr Khan supporters dead. 

Dozens of protesters and more than 200 police officers were injured.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled that arrest unlawful, but asked the Islamabad High Court, a lower division, to reconsider its initial decision to uphold the arrest.

Mr Khan was removed as prime minister last year by a no-confidence vote in Parliament and now leads the opposition. 

He faces more than 100 legal cases, most involving allegations that he incited violence and threatened police and government officials.

He also faces at least three corruption cases, including accusations from the National Accountability Bureau that he accepted millions of dollars worth of property in exchange for providing benefits to a real estate tycoon. 

A new terrorism charge was filed against him on Thursday for allegedly inciting his followers to violence after his arrest.