Pakistani court reviews Imran Khan's corruption conviction appeal

A Pakistani court took up jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's appeal against conviction on corruption charges on Wednesday.

FILE PHOTO: Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks to the members of the media at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan May 18, 2023. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza//File Photo

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -A Pakistani court took up jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's appeal against conviction on corruption charges on Wednesday, but there was no immediate suggestion of his possible release on bail, his lawyer said.

Khan, 70, has been at the heart of political turmoil since he was ousted as prime minister in a vote of no-confidence last year, raising concern about Pakistan's stability as it grapples with an economic crisis.

He has been barred from holding any public office for five years after he began a three-year sentence on Saturday on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts acquired by him and his family during his 2018-2022 tenure.

"Imran Khan will be freed if his case is heard on merit," his lawyer, Naeem Panjutha, said ahead before the court took up the appeal.

FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Ahle-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, a political and religious group, chant slogans in support of the Pakistan's Armed Forces, and condemn the attacks on government and army buildings by the supporters of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan on May 9, 2023, during a rally in Karachi, Pakistan May 19, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo

Panjutha said the court had issued notices to concerned authorities to respond, but did not fix a date for the next hearing.

Khan, who has denied any wrongdoing, was arrested at his Lahore house and is currently in a prison near Islamabad.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad, Editing by William Maclean, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Nick Macfie)