Imran Khan gets barred from elections after guilty verdict

Pakistan's former premier Imran Khan will not be able to contest elections scheduled to be held by November, after he was convicted of hiding the proceeds from selling state gifts when he was in power.

The ex-cricket star was swiftly arrested by police on Saturday after a sessions court in Islamabad sentenced him to three years in prison. Khan, who denies any wrongdoing and faces more than 170 other cases, will challenge the decision in a higher court.

The latest political development clears the way for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to hold elections as the government's term ends next week. Sharif is looking to secure a mandate allowing him to continue with the bailout program with the International Monetary Fund that he revived in late June on the backdrop of record inflation and interest rates.


"The court declared Imran Khan as guilty in a judgment, which is lacking witnesses," Naeem Haider Panjhuta, Khan's spokesman on legal affairs, said in a posting on social media. "Imran Khan has been sentenced to three years in prison and 100,000 rupees fine in the state gifts case."

Pakistan's government said Khan will be automatically disqualified from the election process. "He will need to serve the sentence," Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on legal affairs Attaullah Tarar told reporters.