Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court accepted a bail application from detained former PM Imran Khan, his lawyer said, a day after another court declared illegal his trial on charges of leaking state secrets.
The former cricketer is waging a number of court challenges in an attempt to get out of jail and to lead his party in the general election that is scheduled for February 8 and which his bitter adversary, another former prime minister, is expecting to win. For illegally selling gifts from the state while serving as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, the 71-year-old was sentenced to three years in prison on August 5. According to his lawyer, the Supreme Court granted the bail request.
“A decision will come in the next hearing after arguments from both sides,” lawyer Naeem Panjutha said.
No date had been set for the hearing, he said, adding that the Supreme Court would seek input from the government on the application.
Khan has been at the centre of protracted political turmoil in nuclear-armed Pakistan that has shone a spotlight on the powerful military’s influence over civilian politics.
He was removed from office in 2022 following a no-confidence vote in parliament. At the time, he said the military was attempting to distance itself from him following a disagreement with the generals over selections to high security positions. Khan's conviction prevents him from running in the February election, but his party will compete against Nawaz Sharif's, who was overthrown in a coup in 1999 and driven out of office once more in 2017 after a court decision. After four years of self-exile, he returned home last month to support his party's continued hold on power.