Pakistan court acquits Imran Khan, but he remains in jail
Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, will remain in prison even after he and his wife were acquitted on charges of marrying unlawfully by a court in Islamabad.
Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi had been sentenced to seven years for allegedly marrying too soon after her divorce in an alleged breach of Islamic law.
On Saturday, Islamabad Additional District and Sessions Court judge Afzal Majoka announced their appeal was accepted.
The jail sentence, handed to Khan and his wife on February 3, followed two other convictions for him in separate cases. Both have since been overturned. Khan says all cases were filed against him by the military leadership to keep him away from power.
The acquittal in the marriage case seemed to have removed the last hurdle in the way of the former prime minister’s release from prison. But Khan and his wife remain locked up, according to a spokesman for his party — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Spokesman Ahmed Janjua said in a statement that another court in eastern Lahore had approved his arrest over three cases alleging he incited riots in May 2023.
It was "yet another gimmick to keep the illegal imprisonment prolonged,” he said.
Khan was arrested in May 2023 from inside the High Court in Islamabad on corruption charges.
His arrest sparked protests during which supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party poured onto the streets and clashed with police.
Days before the February elections in the country, the former prime minister was slapped with more convictions, which according to Khan, were orchestrated to prevent his return to power.
Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was ousted by a no-confidence vote after the military establishment turned against him and backed his political rivals.
A UN panel of experts said earlier this month that Khan's detention "had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office.”
"Thus, from the outset, that prosecution was not grounded in law and was reportedly instrumentalized for a political purpose," said the panel of experts, calling for his immediate release.
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