The residents of Lahore, the hometown of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan were happy upon his return after he was released on bail on Friday (May 12) and arrived home in Lahore early on Saturday (May 13).

He received a warm welcome as thousands of rejoiced supporters showered his car with rose petals and set off fireworks hours earlier.

The court ordered Khan be released on bail for two weeks, his lawyer said on Friday, after his arrest in a land fraud case ignited deadly protests and a tussle with the military.

On Saturday morning, a few of his supporters were resting outside his house after a night of waiting.

Khan said late at night, after finally leaving the High Court in Islamabad, that he had been delayed by the police who said they feared for his safety.

The arrest, which the Supreme Court ruled “invalid and unlawful” a day earlier, has fuelled instability in the nation of 220 million at a time of economic crisis, with record inflation, anemic growth, and delayed IMF funding.

The 70-year-old cricket hero-turned-politician was ousted as prime minister in April 2022 in a parliamentary no-confidence vote and is Pakistan’s most popular leader according to opinion polls.