MADRID 20 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The High Court of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, ordered this Wednesday the release on bail of former Prime Minister Imran Jan for the so-called ‘Toshakhana’ case, which links the former president with the sale of gifts received from different foreign dignitaries for your personal enrichment.
However, this does not guarantee that the former president, against whom numerous open cases are still pending before the Pakistani Justice, can make his release from prison effective.
Judge Miangul Hasán Aurangzeb, who presided over the hearing in which the appeal presented by the defense lawyers was resolved, has accepted the measure in exchange for the payment of one million rupees (about 3,400 euros), although everything indicates that that Jan must remain imprisoned for the moment.
Likewise, he has ordered Jan to appear in court and has assured that this measure can be revoked at any time if the accused does not cooperate with Justice, according to information from the Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’.
The Lahore High Court this Wednesday refused to release him provisionally on bail for another case pending before Justice. His wife, Bushra Bibi, also convicted of corruption, managed to benefit from this measure in early November after spending nine months in prison.
Already last July, the Pakistani Justice suspended the sentence imposed against Jan for the ‘Toshakhana’ case after his lawyer stated that there was “no evidence” to justify the sentence imposed against his client, who claimed to be a victim of a “illegal” trial. However, hours later, Justice imposed a new arrest warrant against him.
Now, his lawyer has indicated that the former prime minister will be released “soon” despite his judicial situation and having been in prison for more than a year. Jan faces a hundred cases for corruption, abuse of power and incitement to violence, according to information from the television network Geo TV.
The judicial decision comes after calling on his followers throughout the country to march to the capital on November 24 as part of a new day of protests against the Government. This could be the biggest call made by Khan against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif since he came to power after the controversial elections in February.
The leaders of his party, the Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI), have assured that they will stage demonstrations and sit-ins until their demands, including Jan’s release, are met.