Pakistan’s top court orders ex-PM Imran Khan released on bail over corruption case
- But Khan – currently serving a three-year sentence in jail in a corruption case – will not be presently freed, as he still faces two other corruption cases
- The ruling came two days after his party announced he would run in the country’s coming parliamentary elections from prison
Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered in a surprise ruling on Friday the release of former prime minister Imran Khan and one of his party deputies on bail in a case involving alleged corruption.
Khan – currently serving a three-year sentence in jail in a corruption case – will not be presently freed, as he still faces two other corruption cases.
Friday’s ruling, which Khan’s defence team viewed as a legal victory and a political boost, was issued over charges of the former premier revealing state secrets when he waved an allegedly confidential document, dubbed Cipher, last year at a rally following his ouster from power. The document has not been made public.
“The court’s order is proof enough that the charges against Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi were fabricated,” Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar said. Qureshi is a senior vice-president at Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.