Pakistan court dismisses sedition case against former Prime Minister Khan

A Pakistani court on Monday dismissed a sedition case against former prime minister Imran Khan, a relief for the leader whose appeal against the conviction in a separate corruption case will be decided by a higher court on Tuesday.

The 70-year-old former cricket star has appealed to the Islamabad High Court, seeking a suspension of his three-year sentence on corruption charges brought before him this month, saying he was sentenced without the right to defence.

“The ruling is confidential,” his lawyer Naeem Panjutha said in a post on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter, regarding the corruption case, adding that the court will announce the decision on Tuesday.

The sedition case was filed in March in the southwestern city of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, on the basis of allegations that one of Khan’s speeches was seditious.

Balochistan’s High Court said on Monday that prosecutors failed to obtain the necessary consent from the federal or provincial government to file sedition charges.

The allegations “have no legal standing and have no legal effect,” the court ruled, dismissing the case.

“Praise God,” Panjutha said in a Platform X post regarding the ruling in the sedition case, which was among dozens of cases brought against Khan after he lost a parliamentary confidence vote in April 2022.

Khan lost power after feuding with Pakistan’s influential military, and his attempts to garner popular support have sparked political turmoil in a country grappling with one of its worst economic crises.

The general election is due to take place in November, although it is likely to be postponed until at least early next year.

Khan was unable to run and was barred from holding political office for five years.

Source: Terra

Rose

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