A Pakistani high court will next week take up a plea from former prime minister Imran Khan for the suspension of a three-year prison sentence on corruption charges, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
Khan was jailed this month after his conviction for corruption and then barred from politics for five years, preventing him from contesting a general election due late this year.
Read more: Imran Khan in Jail
The former cricket star denies the charges, saying they are a politically motivated bid by his rivals to exclude him from the election.
The PTI chief arrest in a corruption case on May 9 this year triggered violent protests with the party supporters attacking defence and military installations in many parts of the country.
Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were arrested for their alleged involvement in the riots while the authorities had accused the former premier of being the mastermind of the violent protests.
Judge Muhammad Sohail announced the verdict on Tuesday saying that it would be convenient if the former prime minister, who was removed from power via a parliamentary vote last year, joined the investigation related to the cases.
Read more: PCB under fire for omitting Imran Khan in the video celebrating cricket
The six cases were registered against the incarcerated PTI chief in Karachi Company, Ramna, Kohsar, Tarnool and Secretariat police stations of the federal capital.
The judge said the bail PTI chief cannot be extended in light of the Supreme Court verdict.
The ousted premier was put behind bars at Attock Jail earlier this month after a trial court in Islamabad sentenced him to three years in prison and imposed an Rs100,000 fine after he was found guilty of concealing proceeds of Toshakhana (state depository) gifts that he received from foreign dignitaries as the prime minister of the country from 2018 to 2022.
Subsequently, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified him for five years from holding public office following his conviction.
Last week, a local court also canceled the interim bail of the PTI chief in the illegal transfer of 190 million pounds in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi’s interim bail in the case was also disposed of.