29-8-2023 (ISLAMABAD) A Pakistani court has suspended the recent conviction of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges, according to his lawyer, Naeem Panjutha. However, this suspension won’t lead to his immediate release as he is still detained in another case.
Imran Khan, a 70-year-old former cricket star, has been at the center of political upheaval in Pakistan since his removal through a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022. His relations with the country’s powerful military have also deteriorated significantly in the past year.
Khan was imprisoned on August 5th after being sentenced to three years in jail for unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. Following his conviction, Pakistan’s Election Commission barred Khan from contesting elections for five years, ahead of the expected national election.
“God be praised,” said Panjutha, confirming the suspension of Khan’s sentence. The appeal against his conviction was filed by Khan’s legal team, arguing that he was convicted without being given the right to defend himself.
The court has also ordered Khan’s release on bail, but he remains detained in at least one other case, charged with leaking state secrets. A special court in Islamabad has instructed jail authorities to keep Khan in judicial custody and present him before the court on Wednesday, according to an undated order seen by Reuters.
One Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that Khan is charged with making public the contents of a confidential cable sent by Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States and using it for political gain. Khan alleges that this cable proves that his removal was at the behest of the United States, which had allegedly pressured Pakistan’s military to topple his government because he had visited Russia shortly before its attack on Ukraine. Both the United States and the Pakistani military have denied these claims.
Despite the suspension of his sentence, Khan faces numerous other cases, including charges of abetment to murder and orchestrating violent protests. It remains uncertain how the ban on his contesting elections will be affected, with national elections due later this year but likely to be delayed by several months. This suspension follows the dismissal of sedition charges against Khan by the Balochistan High Court on the previous day, citing improper filing of the charges.
