Islamabad High Court Suspends Ex-PM Imran Khan's Corruption Sentence, Calls for Immediate Release

 The Islamabad High Court has suspended the conviction and three-year sentence of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana corruption case. The court's decision comes after Khan challenged his conviction, with a trial court in Islamabad sentencing him on charges related to unlawfully selling state gifts acquired during his tenure. The suspension of his sentence has led to demands for Khan's immediate release from jail. In another case, a court established to hear cases under the Official Secrets Act has directed jail authorities to keep Khan behind bars in the missing cipher case.

The case relates to the alleged leaking of a diplomatic cable, which supposedly went missing from Khan's possession. The court has ordered Khan to be produced before it on August 30. Khan's political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has celebrated the suspension of his sentence in the Toshakhana case, describing it as a re-scripting of Pakistan's political and legal history. The PTI has also demanded compensation for the number of days Khan has spent in prison. However, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has expressed displeasure with the high court's decision, stating that Khan's sentence has been suspended and not terminated.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has criticized the justice system, claiming that the verdict was known in advance. The Toshakhana case alleges that Khan deliberately concealed details of the gifts he received and the proceeds from their reported sales during his time as prime minister. The case resulted in his disqualification from politics for five years. Khan has appealed his conviction, and the Supreme Court has accepted procedural defects in his case but is waiting for the high court's decision before giving its judgment.