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The
71-year-old former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle
of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime
minister in April 2022. He has not been seen in public since he
was jailed for three years in August for unlawfully selling
state gifts while in office from 2018 to 2022.
It was not immediately clear if or when Khan would be released
from jail because of the number of arrest warrants issued
against him, Salman Safdar, one of Khan's lawyers who
represented him in court, told journalists after the hearing.
A three-member bench granted Khan and his deputy party leader,
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, bail subject to surety bonds of one
million Pakistani rupees ($3,600) each. Both were indicted
earlier this month.
The state secrets charge is related to a classified cable sent
to Islamabad by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington last year,
which Khan is accused of making public. He denies the charge,
saying the contents appeared in the media from other sources.
Despite Friday's bail, Khan remains disqualified from contesting
national elections scheduled for Feb. 8 by virtue of the
corruption conviction, which a high court refused to suspend on
Thursday. He still plans on filing his nomination papers ahead
of a Sunday deadline, his party said.
Even if the charismatic Khan were unable to contest the
election, his release would be a major shot in the arm for his
party as it would enable him to lead its campaign in the lead-up
to the polls.
Khan is widely believed to be the country's most popular leader
and won the last general elections in 2018.
He says he is being targeted by the powerful military, which
wants to keep him out of the polls. The military denies the
charge.
(Reporting by stringer in Islamabad and Ariba Shahid in Karachi;
Writing by Shivam Patel; Editing by Jan Harvey and Nick Macfie)
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