His court Pakistan today suspended the recent conviction on charges for corruption of the former prime minister Imran Khanas his lawyer Naim Panjutha said, although it is unclear whether this decision will lead to his release.

THE 70 years old former cricket hero is at the center of political turmoil in the crisis-ridden nuclear nation after he was ousted following a failed parliamentary confidence vote in April 2022, and his relations with Pakistan’s powerful generals have soured greatly over the past year.

Khan was taken to prison on August 5 after being sentenced to three years imprisonment for illegally selling government gifts during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. As a result of the conviction, and with the Parliamentary Elections expected in the coming months, the Election Commission of Pakistan also barred Khan from contesting his election for a period of five years.

“The sentence has been suspended”Panjutha said on messaging platform X, formerly Twitter, adding, “Thank God.”

Khan’s legal team had appealed the conviction arguing that he had not been given the right to defend himself.

The court also ordered that Khan be released on bail, another of his lawyers, Shoaib Sahin, told reporters outside the court. But it remains uncertain whether he will be released as there are court orders for his arrest in other cases.

Khan faces dozens of casesincluding charges of inciting murder, leaking state secrets and organizing violent protests.

He has already been arrested in connection with another case, accused of leaking state secrets and endangering national security.

It is not clear how the ban on running as a candidate for elections will be affected by the suspension of his sentence. Elections are expected to be held later this year, but are likely to be delayed by several months.

The suspension is another victory for Khan and comes a day after a Balochistan court dismissed sedition charges against him, saying they had been wrongly filed.