Pakistan court dismisses graft case against Imran Khan

Khan had faced being disqualified from holding political office over charges including unreported assets.

 Pakistan's Supreme Court dismissed a graft case against cricketer-turned-opposition leader Imran Khan on Friday, ensuring that he will contest a general election due next year, just months after the same body ousted ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Khan had faced being disqualified from holding political office over charges including unreported assets, namely the funds he used to buy a scenic, sprawling property in the Bani Gala hills on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad.

He has dismissed the claims as a political vendetta, saying he used money earned from his career as one of Pakistan's most famous World Cup cricketers to buy the land and that he has the documentation to prove it.

"No omission or dishonesty can be attributed to him. This petition has no merits and is dismissed accordingly," chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar said, reading from the judgement to a packed courtroom.

Shortly after the judgement Khan held a press conference in Karachi where he told reporters "Pakistan's highest court has exonerated me".

"The taxpayers and those who earn their money through fair means and pay taxes should not be compared with the robbers and thieves," Khan added.

Pakistan has been roiled by military coups and instability for much of its 70-year history, and the general election due in 2018 will only be its second ever democratic transition.

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which already holds northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, hopes to capitalise on Sharif's ousting and the disarray of his ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to gain seats.

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