Islamabad, Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has urged the Islamabad High Court to consider his release on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, citing prolonged solitary confinement and an eye infection.
Khan's plea was made through his counsel, Salman Safdar, as the court heard appeals filed by Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, against their conviction in the 190-million-pound corruption case.
An Islamabad accountability court in January last year sentenced 73-year-old Khan to 14 years and Bibi to seven years in prison in the corruption case led by the National Accountability Bureau.
Safdar requested the court to suspend the sentence, arguing that the case had remained pending for over 16 months and had already faced 17 hearings in the appeal.
He informed the court of concerns over Khan's eyesight, claiming that his vision has deteriorated significantly, with 85% of his vision lost.
The defence counsel claimed that the damage to Khan's eye appeared to be permanent and questioned the conditions in which his clients were being held.
The graft case pertains to allegations linked to the Al-Qadir Trust, a welfare organisation that runs a university outside Islamabad.
