ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s convicted leader Imran Khan will quit as head of his political party while rival Nawaz Sharif had a conviction overturned in separate fates for the nation’s top two politicians months before the national elections.

Khan won’t stand for chairman of Tehreek-e-Insaf in party elections as he may be disqualified from holding such a post because of his conviction in a corruption case, Mr Ali Zafar, a senior leader in Khan’s party, told reporters on Wednesday.

Separately, Khan’s bitter rival and former three-time prime minister Sharif’s conviction in one of the graft cases against him was overturned by the Islamabad High Court, said party leader Azam Nazeer Tarar. 

Both events are seen to have consequences in the run-up to the elections as the country’s two top leaders, who want to lead the nation again, are currently disqualified to hold public office.

Khan, the 73-year-old former cricket captain, is facing more than 170 legal cases while a crackdown after a violent protest has seen key party leaders leave the party or jailed.

The flamboyant leader was handed a jail sentence by a judge in August for hiding income from the sale of gifts he received from foreign leaders when he was the premier from 2018 to 2022. The jail term was suspended by a court but Khan, who says cases against him are politically motivated, will stay disqualified to hold public office until his conviction is overturned.

Khan has named Mr Gohar Ali Khan as his successor in party elections on Saturday for an interim period, Mr Zafar said.

He was removed as the premier in April 2022 in a no-confidence move in Parliament led by Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party.

Khan has had a falling-out with the nation’s powerful military that has directly or indirectly controlled the nation’s foreign, security and other key policies. The military is seen to have been instrumental in bringing Khan to power before the fallout. 

Sharif returned to Pakistan in October after a four-year self-exile to galvanise support ahead of elections early in February 2024 and return his party to power.

He has appealed against his conviction in a second graft case, and he may become eligible to hold public office when that sentence is also overturned, Mr Tarar said. BLOOMBERG