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Pakistan ex-PM Khan's illegal marriage conviction overturned

AFP ASIA
Published July 13,2024
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A Pakistan court overturned ex-prime minister Imran Khan's conviction on illegal marriage charges on Saturday, though he remains jailed over allegations of inciting riots.

Khan was slapped with a trio of convictions in the days before February elections -- cases he says were orchestrated to prevent his return to power.

Those cases have now all been at least partially rolled back on appeal, with a treason conviction carrying a decade jail term overturned in April, and a 14-year graft sentence suspended in June, though the conviction still stands.

Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi had also been sentenced to seven years for allegedly marrying too soon after her divorce in a breach of Islamic law.

But Islamabad Additional District and Sessions Court judge Afzal Majoka announced Saturday that the "appeals of both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi are accepted".

Khan remains locked up, though, with a spokesman for his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party saying a court in eastern Lahore had approved his arrest over three cases alleging he incited riots in May 2023.

Spokesman Ahmed Janjua said in a statement it was "yet another gimmick to keep the illegal imprisonment prolonged".