Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s graft conviction suspended

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday suspended former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan’s recent conviction on corruption charges, his lawyer Naeem Panjutha said, although it was unclear whether this would lead to his release from jail.

The 70-year-old former cricket hero has been at the centre of political turmoil in the crisis-ridden nuclear-armed state since his ouster in a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022, and his relations with Pakistan’s powerful generals have deteriorated badly over the past year.

Khan was imprisoned on Aug 5 after being sentenced to three years’ jail for unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

As a result of the conviction, and with

a national election expected in the coming months,

Pakistan’s Election Commission also barred Khan from contesting elections for five years.

He had filed an appeal against the conviction. “Our application has been accepted, the sentence has been suspended,” Mr Panjutha said on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Khan’s legal team lodged the appeal against his conviction on the grounds that he was convicted without being given the right to defend himself.

The court also ordered Khan’s release on bail, another of his lawyers, Mr Shoaib Shaheen, said.

The uncertainty over whether Khan will be automatically released as a result of the High Court’s decision is due to other court orders allowing for his arrest in other cases.

He is involved in dozens of cases, including charges of leaking state secrets and orchestrating violent protests.

It is not immediately clear how the ban on his contesting elections will be affected.

National elections are due later in 2023 but they are likely to be delayed by several months.

The suspension marks another win for Khan and comes a day after the Balochistan High Court dismissed sedition charges against him, saying they had been improperly filed. REUTERS