A Pakistani court on Monday granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan an appeal for his graft conviction, suspending his 14-year jail sentence, according to his lawyer. This comes as a relief for his party, which won the majority of seats in February`s national polls.
Just a week before the February 8 elections, Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi received a 14-year sentence for unlawfully selling state gifts by an anti-graft court.
However, despite the suspension, Khan will remain in jail due to other sentences imposed on him before the polls, which also led to his disqualification from holding public office for 10 years.
The Islamabad High Court stated that the graft sentence will remain suspended until a final decision on the conviction, which will be addressed after Eid holidays, said lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar.
"No evidence backs up this conviction," Zafar told reporters outside the Islamabad court, explaining why the sentence was suspended upon the appeal`s first hearing.
Khan and his wife were accused of illegally selling gifts, valued at over $500,000, received during his premiership from 2018 to 2022 from a state treasury known as the "Toshakhana."
These gifts, as listed by a former information minister, included perfumes, diamond jewelry, dinner sets, and seven watches, six of which were Rolexes, with the most expensive being a "Master Graff limited edition" valued at $304,000.
In August, Khan received a three-year prison sentence for the same charge from another court, which was also suspended on appeal.
Khan and his party claim that the legal cases against him were fabricated to keep him out of politics at the military`s behest after disagreements with the military`s generals. However, the military denies these allegations.
The military has played a significant role in Pakistan`s governance, directly ruling the country for half of its history since independence, and often influencing government formations in the populous nation.
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