Pakistan court suspends ex-PM Imran Khan’s corruption conviction, detention to continue
Islamabad, Aug 29 (EFE).- A Pakistani court on Tuesday suspended the prison sentence of former prime minister and opposition leader Imran Khan, who had been convicted in the beginning of August on corruption charges, although the leader is set to remain in custody over another case pending against him.
“Sentence suspended, Alhamdolillah (Thank God!),” Khan’s lawyer Naeem Haider had announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ahmed Janjua, the spokesperson of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, also informed that the Islamabad High Court had granted bail to the ex-PM.
Khan had been sentenced to three years in prison for not declaring the amount of money he earned by selling gifts received during his prime ministerial term between 2018 and 2022, which he allegedly did not transfer to the Toshakhana, the government treasury that houses gifts received by government officials from foreign dignitaries.
However, the cricketer-turned-politician is set to remain in prison.
Hours later on Tuesday, another judge issued an order to keep Khan in custody and present him on Wednesday in a special court, where he has been charged with leaking classified correspondence between the Pakistan embassy in the United States and the US government.
The former PM had alleged a conspiracy against him by Washington and local politicians as well as the military after being ousted from power last year in a no-confidence motion.
After his corruption conviction this month, the leader has been disqualified from holding public office by the Election Commission of Pakistan, a decision which resulted in him losing his seat in the parliament and being blocked from contesting any election for the next five years.
Khan has openly accused the powerful Pakistani military of orchestrating his imprisonment and trying to prevent him from returning to power in the upcoming general elections, set to be held by the end of this year, apart from trying to finish off his party by mass arrest of its supporters.
With more than 150 cases pending against him, the ex-PM has alleged that Pakistani authorities aim to keep him away from the election campaign by keeping him in prison. EFE
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