Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan's graft conviction suspended, but no quick
release
Send a link to a friend
[August 29, 2023]
By Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani court on Tuesday suspended former
Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent conviction on corruption charges, his
lawyer Naeem Panjutha said, but it will not lead to his release as a
judge has ordered his detention in another case.
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.
"The sentence has been suspended," Panjutha said on messaging platform
X, formerly known as Twitter, adding: "God be praised."
Khan's legal team had lodged an appeal on the grounds that he was
convicted without being given the right to defend himself.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/29/images/ads/current/topflight_sda_FAIR_2023.png)
The court also ordered Khan's release on bail, another one of his
lawyers, Shoaib Shaheen, told reporters outside the court. But he will
not be freed as he has been detained in at least one other separate case
on charges of leaking state secrets.
A special court in Islamabad has ordered prison authorities to keep Khan
in judicial custody and present him before the court on Wednesday,
according to an undated order seen by Reuters.
A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official, who requested anonymity,
said Khan was 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's top aide, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has
already been arrested in the same case.
Khan alleges that the cable proves that his removal was at the behest of
the United States, which he said pressed 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 that.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/29/images/ads/current/wellsfirearms_sda_FAIR_2023.png)
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/082923PIX/news_a26.jpg)
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran
Khan, gestures as he speaks to the members of the media at his
residence in Lahore, Pakistan May 18, 2023. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza//File
Photo/
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/29/images/ads/current/bennet_lda_010722.png)
'MULTITUDE OF CASES'
The suspension does not mean Khan's graft conviction has been
overturned, which is pending a detailed hearing in the court,
according to constitutional lawyer Abdul Moiz Jaferii.
"(Khan) being left at liberty is now hindered by him being required
by the police and relevant investigation agencies in the multitude
of other cases instituted against him," Jaferii said.
He said Khan would need to seek bail from the other courts hearing
those cases.
Khan faces dozens of cases, including charges of abetment to murder
and orchestrating violent protests that followed his initial arrest
in May. He denies all the charges.
It is unclear how the ban on his contesting elections will be
affected with the suspension of his sentence. National elections are
due later this year and a caretaker government was appointed this
month, but voting is likely to be delayed 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.
Khan's political opponents say that the former prime minister will
remain in custody.
"He has been on judicial remand for 15 days, which is expiring
tomorrow, and he will be produced for extension of the remand
tomorrow in a special court," said Ataullah Tarar, a key aide to
former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/29/images/ads/current/applegate_sda_FAIR_2023.png)
Khan's camp called for him to be released following Tuesday's
suspension of his graft conviction.
"Arresting him in any other case will cause further damage to our
national integrity and repute of judicial system," Khan's aide
Zulfikar Bukhari posted on messaging platform X.
"Let the innocent be free!" he added.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Additional reporting by Gibran Peshimam
and Ariba Shahid; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Alex
Richardson)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |