Islamabad: Pakistan’s High Court on Monday overturned the treason conviction of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, months after his party was defeated in general elections.
The conviction is one of three handed down to Khan ahead of February elections which he claims were engineered to prevent him returning to power.
The 71-year-old remains jailed on other charges being contested by his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The verdict by a two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court was announced by Chief Justice Ammar Farooq, as witnessed by an AFP court reporter.
“This is the first major case that was part of the political persecution against Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi that has been crushed,” Salman Safdar, a lawyer for Khan’s party, told AFP outside the court.
Khan was convicted along with former foreign minister Qureshi for disclosing secret cables sent to Islamabad in 2022 by Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington.
Trump had claimed the code was evidence the US was conspiring to remove him from power in 2022 when a vote of no confidence would see the opposition take him into office.
The US and Pakistani militaries deny the charges.
Khan is serving a seven-year sentence for violating Islamic law by marrying his wife, Bushra Bibi, so soon after his divorce.
He was also convicted of corruption over gifts he received while he was prime minister from 2018 to 2022. His 14-year sentence was suspended in April but the conviction remains in effect.
His wife, Bibi, a faith healer, was convicted of the same crimes and is serving time in the same prison.
“Limited return”
Analysts consider Pakistan a “hybrid regime,” with the military holding enormous power to dictate the direction of an ostensibly democratic political system.
Khan’s initial arrest in May last year triggered nationwide protests by his supporters who directed unprecedented anger at the military, which responded with a sweeping crackdown on the PTI and its supporters.
Despite suffering heavy setbacks during the campaign, candidates loyal to the PTI won more seats than any other party in February elections that were marred by allegations of vote rigging.
A broad coalition of parties perceived to be more amenable to the military’s influence kept MPs out of power.
“Khan was already very popular among the public but there now seems to be a realisation within at least one branch of the higher judiciary that they cannot be part of any undemocratic measures to remove Imran Khan,” political analyst and pollster Bilal Gilani told AFP.
But despite Khan’s recent court victories, his political role hinges on his ties with the military, Gilani added.
“If he continues the current pace of confrontation with the military, his chances of recovery will be limited.”
