Big relief to Imran Khan from Islamabad High Court, order of release stayed on sentence. Loktej World News

Islamabad, 29 August (Hindustan). The politics of Pakistan has once again taken a turn. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, facing a three-year sentence and a five-year ban from electoral politics on corruption charges, has got a big relief from the Islamabad High Court. The court has issued orders of release suspending his sentence.

Imran Khan, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison in a corruption case. Imran Khan was accused of illegally selling state gifts received by him and his family during his tenure from 2018-2022. A sessions court convicted him in this case and sentenced him. He was also banned from politics for five years.

After being convicted by the Sessions Court, Imran Khan was arrested on August 5 and kept in Attock Jail. After this, Imran Khan filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court demanding suspension of the jail sentence. A division bench of Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri reserved the verdict after hearing the lawyers of both the sides. While giving the verdict on Tuesday, the court has stayed the sentence of Imran Khan. Along with this, orders have also been given to release Imran immediately.

The Islamabad High Court said it would issue a detailed judgment in the Imran Khan case later. Islamabad High Court’s decision is a big legal victory for Imran Khan. Imran Khan was also barred from contesting elections after being found guilty in the Toshakhana case. General elections are going to be held in Pakistan by the end of this year or early next year. The army is trying to somehow keep Imran Khan out of this election process, but Imran Khan has proved to be strong once again.

Allegations of corruption through gifts

Imran Khan has been accused of corruption through the gifts he received when he was the Prime Minister. Actually, according to the law of Pakistan, any gift received from the dignitaries of a foreign state has to be kept in the State Depository ie Toshakhana. If the head of state wants to retain the gift, he will have to pay an amount equal to its value. This is decided through an auction process. These gifts either remain deposited in the Toshakhana or can be auctioned and the money earned through this is deposited in the national exchequer.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief Imran Khan has been accused of buying gifts, including an expensive graph wristwatch received at a discounted price from the State Depository i.e. Toshakhana, and selling them for profit when he was the prime minister. Imran Khan had received 58 gifts worth about Rs 14 crore during his official visits. These costly gifts were deposited in the Toshakhana. Later Imran Khan bought them from Toshakhana at a cheap price and then sold them in the market at an expensive price. He also made changes in the government law for this entire process. It is alleged that Imran bought these gifts from Toshakhana for Rs 2.15 crore and earned a profit of Rs 5.8 crore by selling them. These gifts included a Graph watch, a pair of cufflinks, an expensive pen, a ring and four Rolex watches.