News / Pakistan

Pakistan court drops sedition case against ex-PM Khan: Lawyer

Monday, 28 August 2023 11:17 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 28 August 2023 11:17 AM ]

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan.(File photo)

A Pakistani court dismissed a sedition case lodged against Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday, according to a court order and his lawyer.

Khan, 70, a former cricket player, was jailed on corruption charges earlier this month.

In March, he was charged with sedition on a complaint that alleged one of his speeches amounted to sedition. The case was registered in the southwestern city of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.

Following an appeal by the former prime minister, the Balochistan High Court said prosecutors had failed to obtain the required consent from the federal or provincial government to lodge the charges of sedition.

Hence the court ruled that the charges are “without lawful authority and are of no legal effect,” meaning that the authorities should quash the case.

Khan’s lawyer Naeem Panjutha also made this announcement in a post on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

“God be praised,” she wrote on X celebrating the dismissal of the case.

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Khan, who lost power after being defeated in a parliamentary confidence vote in April 2022, is also currently serving a three-year jail term after being convicted of corruption.

He is expecting a high court in Islamabad to overturn his conviction and jail sentence.

He said the cases lodged against him were politically motivated to keep him out of power. He says the country’s powerful military is behind these cases.

The three-year jail sentence issued by a lower court disqualifies him from taking part in elections scheduled for November, though it is likely to be delayed until at least early next year.

Khan has been barred from holding political office for five years.

Pakistan arrests opposition leader in crackdown on Imran Khan's party

Pakistani authorities have arrested opposition leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a widening crackdown on Imran Khan

In past months, Pakistani authorities have made widespread arrests targeting Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in an attempt to crush his grassroots support, causing nationwide anger against the country’s military for ordering the crackdown.

According to several independent surveys, the PTI will win a landslide victory in the next elections if the party is allowed to run a political campaign without restrictions.

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