a court of Pakistan has suspended this Tuesday the sentence to three years of jail against the former prime minister Imran Jan in the context of a case corruption in connection with the illegal sale of gifts received as head of Government during his tenure (2018-2022).
Naim Haider Panjoza, Jan’s legal advisor, announced the decision in a message on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, where he specified that the High Court of Islamabad “has suspended the judgment and has said that there will be a detailed decision later.”
Shortly after, Tariq Mehmud, judge of the court, has confirmed that “the request (of the former prime minister and leader of the Pakistani party Tehrik-e-Insaf) has been approved”, without any further details for the moment, as reported by the Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’.
“Defects” in the judgment
Jan was sentenced on August 5, a decision that meant he would not be able to appear at some general elections for a period of five years, although the Pakistani Supreme Court recognized last week “procedural defects” in the sentence, pending the decision of the High Court of Islamabad.
However, at the moment it is not clear if Jan will be released from prisongiven that the former Minister of the Interior frog sanaula he stressed through X that “liberation is not possible, as he has to deal with other cases.”
The sentence issued on August 5 stemmed from the accusations against Jan for the sale of gifts to the State by international leaders. Among the gifts that Jan received while occupying the Government Headquarters was a rifle AK-47 gold-plated, jewels, diamonds and watches, as well as luxury cufflinks delivered by rulers of the richest countries of the Persian Gulf.
Under Pakistani law, Jan was required to deliver these gifts to the state. However, the former prime minister sold them in the Emirati city of Dubai and never declared the benefits in his estate, although the now opposition leader denied the accusations.
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Separately, Jan’s legal team has filed a new petition with the Islamabad High Court for him to order the authorities a new “unlawful and unjustified arrest” of the former prime minister in any case opened against him after the verdict of August 5.
Jan rose to power after a disputed election in 2018 and was ousted by the Pakistani Parliament in April 2022 through a motion of censure. Following these events, the former prime minister has led massive marches demanding his return to the Headquarters of Government that have sometimes led to violent acts.