Pakistan: Imran Khan won’t come out of jail despite getting bail in cipher case

Islamabad [Pakistan]: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan won’t be coming out of jail despite getting bail in the cipher case by the country’s top court, Geo News reported on Friday.

He was granted bail in the Toshakahan case and the top court granted him relief in the cipher case but there are two more hurdles in his way as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has filed two corruption references against him.

The anti-graft watchdog arrested the PTI founder in a 190 million-pound settlement and Toshakhana cases and the bail petitions are pending before the accountability courts. Until he secures bail in these two cases he will remain behind bars, according to Geo News.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court granted him and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi bail in the case against surety bonds of 1 million Pakistani Rupees (PKR) each today.
Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has been in jail since August after his conviction on corruption charges in separate cases.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges of leaking state secrets. The charges are related to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington last year, which Khan is accused of making public.

As per details, the former premier is facing multiple cases from corruption to violence filed against him in different courts across the country including the Toshakahana reference in which he has been disqualified, Geo News reported.

Other than Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi also got bail by the Pakistan Supreme Court in the cypher case.

Earlier in August, former Prime Minister Imran Khan was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 100,000 PKR by Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar, after the judge found him guilty of graft in the Toshakhana case.

Khan has been convicted of misusing his position as prime minister to sell state gifts worth more than PKR 140 million (USD 490,000) that he received from foreign dignitaries during visits abroad, reported Geo News.

Last month, the PTI sought Imran’s post-arrest bail in the Supreme Court, arguing that bail should not be used as a form of punishment. The SC had previously issued notices to the FIA and the federation, directing them to submit responses to the plea, Dawn reported.

The cypher case, initiated with the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act, involves serious allegations against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.