According to his counsel, a Pakistani high court on Tuesday suspended former prime minister Imran Khan’s prison term for a graft conviction; however, it was not clear if he would be released right away.
According to a spokeswoman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the Islamabad High Court this month overruled a lower court’s decision to sentence Khan to three years in prison and prevent him from running in next elections.
The 70-year-old was reportedly given bail, according to his party and attorneys, but they were concerned he might be detained again for one of the more than 200 cases brought against him since his ouster by parliamentary vote in April 2022.
“We have filed a separate application requesting the court pass an order barring the authorities from arresting him in any other case,” Gohar Khan, one of the lawyers, told AFP.
“If authorities arrest him in any other case, it will be against his legal rights.”
Since a judge convicted Khan guilty of failing to properly disclose gifts he received while in office, Khan has been imprisoned for three weeks.
In anticipation of his release, Khan’s legal team announced that they will travel to Attock Jail, a century-old facility located about 40 miles (60 kilometers) west of Islamabad, the nation’s capital.
However, because there are so many other cases involving Khan, political analyst Omar Quraishi told AFP that “it remains to be seen if the former prime minister will be released and if so, when.”
