Court suspends Imran's 14-year jail sentence

Grants him appeal of graft conviction

FE Team | Published: April 01, 2024 23:23:22

Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD, Apr 01 (Reuters/AFP): A Pakistani court on Monday granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan an appeal of his conviction for graft and suspended his 14-year jail sentence, his party said.
Just a week ahead of Feb. 8 elections, Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were both handed a 14-year sentence on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts.
Khan remains in jail after multiple other sentences were imposed on the ex-cricket star ahead of the national polls, which also disqualified him from holding any public office for 10 years.
Islamabad High Court said that the couple's sentence will remain suspended until a final decision on the conviction which will be taken up for arguments and evidence as a main petition after Eid holidays, the party said in a statement.
Khan and his party say the legal cases against him were based on made-up charges to keep him out of politics at the behest of the country's powerful army after he had fallen out with the military's generals. The army denies the accusation.
Khan, 71, remains jailed on two other cases including treason and illegal marriage with sentences stretching up to a decade.
The trial court gave "limited counsel access but also had reached the decision in haste without allowing defence to conclude arguments," spokesman Ahmed Janjua said.
Khan was hit by a trio of sentences in the days before Pakistan's February general elections. Analysts said it was a bid to sideline the former prime minister and his PTI party from the poll.