Pakistan court quashes sedition charges against former PM Imran Khan

A Pakistani court on Monday quashed a sedition case against former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday, providing some relief for the cricket hero turned politician who was jailed on corruption charges earlier this month.
 

The case against Khan, 70, had been registered in March in the southwestern city of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, based on an allegation that one of his speeches was seditious.
 

Following an appeal by Khan, the Balochistan High Court said prosecutors had failed to obtain the required consent from the federal or provincial government to lodge sedition charges. The charges are “without lawful authority and are of no legal effect”, the court ruled, throwing out the case. 
 

“God be praised,” Khan’s lawyer Naeem Panjutha said in a jubilant post on X.
 

The sedition case was among dozens of cases brought against Khan since he lost power after being defeated in a parliamentary confidence vote in April, 2022.