A court in Pakistan on Wednesday extended the detention of former Prime Minister Imran Khan for two weeks on the charges of leaking the content of a classified diplomatic cable.

This is according to his lawyers as reported on Wednesday.

Judge Mohamed Zulqarnain said Mr Khan must be kept in jail until September 13, lawyer Naeem Haider Panjutha said.

The extension came a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended Mr Khan’s conviction on separate graft charges and ordered his immediate release.

A lower tribunal had convicted the former premier earlier this month on the charges of stealing from the gifts he had received as prime minister between 2018 and 2022.

According to Pakistan’s laws, the gifts from other states for the leaders should go to the national kitty.

But hours later, another court in Islamabad said Mr Khan must be kept in the same prison cell until Wednesday.

He should be produced before the judge on the charges of leaking a diplomatic cable.

The 70-year-old former cricket star has faced a flurry of charges since his removal as prime minister  through a parliamentary vote of confidence last year.

Weeks before his ouster in April 2022, Mr Khan claimed the U.S. hatched a conspiracy with his opponents to remove him because he got close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He waved a paper at a public rally in Islamabad saying that it was a cable sent by the Pakistani ambassador in the U.S. and was proof of his claim. 

(dpa/NAN)