The Islamabad High Court has suspended the conviction of Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan who had previously been found guilty of corruption. This decision follows an appeal made by Khan who argued that he wasn’t provided with a genuine right to defence.
In August of this year, Khan was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for illegally selling items received as state gifts, valued at a total exceeding 154 million PKR, during his tenure as Prime Minister. Alongside his prison sentence, he was also fined 100,000 PKR for false declarations of his assets to the Election Commission of Pakistan. This decision was confirmed by Khan’s lawyer, Naeem Panjutha, on social media, where he stated that the high court had suspended the sentence. The news was met with support from Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which saluted the decision on its social media platforms.
This came shortly after another case against Khan was dismissed by the Balochistan High Court. Originally registered in Quetta in March, the sedition case against Khan accused one of his speeches of being seditious and inciting rebellion against the state. This case was eventually dismissed, with the court considering the charges to be “without lawful authority” and “without legal effect”.
Despite the suspended corruption conviction, Khan remains in jail in relation to another case, linked to the Official Secrets Act. A special court ordered Khan to remain detained as an investigation into a missing diplomatic cable is ongoing. Since his removal from the Prime Minister’s office in April of 2022, the former Prime Minister has been subject to numerous legal cases and accusations such as leaking state secrets and inciting violent protests.
More information can be found at the full news article here.