INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his third wife were acquitted on charges of marrying unlawfully by a Pakistan court on Saturday, yet he
will not be freed after authorities issued fresh orders to arrest him.The ruling came a day after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party
won more seats in parliament, ramping up pressure on the country&s fragile ruling coalition which is grappling to stabilize a broken
economy, Reuters reported.The couple were sentenced to seven years in February when a court found them guilty of breaking Islamic law by
failing to observe the required interval between the divorce from a previous marriage of Bushra Khan, also known as Bushra Bibi, and her
marriage to Khan.They had filed an appeal against their convictions.&Both the appellants are acquitted of the charges,& said an order by the
appeal court seen by Reuters.&They are directed to be released forthwith if not required to be detained in any other case.&It said the
prosecution failed to prove its case against the couple.Khan&s PTI party said authorities have issued fresh arrest warrants for him in three
cases linked to violence against the military and other state installations that erupted following his brief arrest in May 2023.An
anti-terrorism court last week canceled his bail in one of the May 9 cases registered against him and thousands of his supporters.The party
called it a &gimmick& aimed at prolonging his imprisonment.All four jail sentences Khan received ahead of a February national election have
now been overturned or suspended.Jailed since last August, he was acquitted last month of charges of leaking state secrets
Two other corruption sentences have been suspended.The PTI has warned that keeping Khan in jail despite Saturday&s decision will deepen a
political crisis which has crippled the country of 240 million people since he was ousted in a parliament vote of confidence in 2022.Khan
blames his ouster on the country&s powerful military generals
No prime minister of Pakistan has completed a full five-year constitutional term since the country gained its independence in 1947, Reuters
reported. Related stories:Imran Khan calls Pakistan&s threatening to attack Afghanistan ‘foolish&Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan urges IMF to
call election audit, his lawyer saysThe post Pakistan&s Imran Khan to remain in jail despite acquittal in marriage case first appeared on
