International Desk

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.

Imran 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.

Imran 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".

The former prime minister 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".

Courting controversy

Earlier this month a UN panel of experts found Imran Khan's detention "had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office".

"Thus, from the outset, that prosecution was not grounded in law and was reportedly instrumentalised for a political purpose," it said, calling for his immediate release after nearly a year in jail.

Candidates loyal to Imran won the most seats in the national election, but were kept from government by an alliance of military-backed rival parties.

He served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was ousted by a no-confidence vote after falling out with the military establishment, which wields huge influence over civilian politics.

In opposition he waged a campaign of defiance against the top generals, who directly ruled Pakistan for decades of its history, even accusing them of an assassination attempt that wounded him.

But the former cricket star's comeback campaign was hobbled by scores of legal cases, which analysts say were likely brought at the behest of the military establishment.

Gallup Pakistan analyst Bilal Gilani said the rolling back of the cases could suggest the establishment was softening its stance on Khan after the election secured their favoured government -- or that the courts were defying their attempts to keep him confined.

"It is an important judgement, because essentially now there are a limited number of cases left," he told AFP.

"Immediate release is quite impossible, but... the chances of release are getting clearer by the day," he added.

Imran Khan was first briefly arrested in May 2023, sparking nationwide unrest from PTI supporters, some of which targeted military facilities.

The government and military cited the attacks as justification for a sweeping crackdown on PTI, which saw its senior leadership decimated by arrests and defections.

An anti-terrorism court in the eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday refused to grant him bail as police investigate his alleged role in the unrest, despite the fact he was behind bars at the time.

Surviving the crackdown

PTI candidates were forced to stand as independents in 8 February elections, which had been repeatedly delayed amid political chaos.

Imran’s arrest and conviction for graft back in August 2023 meant he was barred from standing for office himself, confined to a cell in Adiala Jail south of the capital Islamabad.

Despite that, candidates loyal to PTI secured more seats than any other party.

Nonetheless they were blocked from power by a broad coalition of parties considered more pliable to the influence of the military.

Polling day itself was marred by allegations of vote-tampering amid a nationwide mobile internet blackout Islamabad said it orchestrated over security concerns.