Islamabad: On Friday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case involving an alleged leak of state secrets. If the ruling holds up at trial and is well received by voters, it will be seen as a big win for his party prior to national elections set for February.
Since being removed from office in April 2021, the 71-year old has found himself involved in a complex of political and legal battles. The 71-year old Khan was also jailed for three years this past August in connection with the unlawful sale of state gifts during his tenure as premier from 2018 to early 2023. He has not been seen since going behind bars that day.
Salman Safdar, one of Khan’s lawyers pointed out that there were multiple arrest warrants against Imran Khan so the timing and conditions for his release from jail remained uncertain. The three-member bench of the Supreme Court ordered bail for Khan and his deputy party leader, Interior Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on 50 lakh (one million) Pakistani rupees each surety bond. The two politicians had been indicted earlier this month.
This charge is connected to state secrets, and involves leaking a classified cable sent by Pakistan ’ s ambassador in Washington to Islamabad. But he denies the charge, claiming that it was leaked from other media. Having been granted bail, Khan is still barred from running in February 8 national elections because the court on Thursday would not suspend a corruption conviction hanging over his head. However, it is rumored that his party will have him file his nomination papers by the Sunday deadline.
Even if Imran Khan has to sit out of this election, but can be released in time for the next one, it would give his party a deep chemical energy as he could lead its campaign prior to that poll coming. In the most recent general elections in 2018 Khan was elected, seen as leading party to victory because of his popularity. But he himself asserts that the powerful military only wants to bar him from entering the polls. The military, however, dismisses such claims.
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