The Supreme Court of Pakistan granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case involving a leak of state secrets on Friday, although it was unclear how he could be released while serving a three-year sentence for corruption and facing other accusations.
Since his ouster as Prime Minister in April 2022, the 71-year-old former cricketer has been entangled in a tangle of political and judicial challenges.
Mr Khan hasn’t been seen in public since he was sentenced to three years in prison in August on charges of illegally selling state gifts from 2018 to 2022. Khan has categorically denied any wrongdoing.
The former Prime Minister remains disqualified from contesting national elections scheduled for February 8, 2024 because of the corruption conviction, which a high court refused to suspend on Thursday.
Khan nevertheless filed nomination papers for the elections on Friday, his party’s media team said.
In a written court order, the Supreme Court judges said they could not find “sufficient incriminating material” to show that Khan leaked state secrets intending to benefit a foreign power.
According to the judgment, Khan’s release on bail “during the period of elections would ensure ‘genuine elections’ and thus enable the people to exercise their right to express their will effectively and meaningfully.” There are no unique circumstances justifying the denial of bail.”
However, given the amount of arrest warrants issued against Khan and the three-year sentence, it was unclear how he could be freed on bail.
The charge of leaking state secrets stems from a confidential cable delivered to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington last year, which Khan is accused of leaking. He denies the charge, claiming that the information surfaced in the media from other sources.
