ISLAMABAD, Nov 20 (Reuters): A court in Pakistan has granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case concerning the illegal sale of state gifts, his party announced on Wednesday.
Khan, 71, has been imprisoned since August last year. However, it remains uncertain if he will be released immediately, as he faces several other charges, including inciting violence against the state.
“If the official order is received today, his family and supporters will approach the authorities for his release,” said Salman Safdar, one of his party’s lawyers. Safdar added that, to his knowledge, Khan has been granted bail or acquitted in all the cases he faces. The case in which he was granted bail on Wednesday by the Islamabad High Court is known as the Toshakhana, or state treasury case.
The case involves multiple charges, all alleging that Khan and his wife illegally procured and sold gifts worth more than 140 million rupees ($501,000) that were in state possession during his 2018-2022 premiership. Previously, Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were both handed a 14-year sentence on the same charges, following a three-year sentence given to him in late 2023 in another version of the same case.
Their sentences have been suspended on appeal at the high court. Both deny any wrongdoing and claim the cases are politically motivated to keep Khan in jail.
The gifts in question included diamond jewellery and seven watches, six of which were Rolexes, with the most expensive valued at 85 million rupees ($305,000).
Khan’s wife was released last month after spending several months in the same prison as Khan.
