MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/. Moscow is ready to develop cooperation with Islamabad, regardless of the outcome of Pakistani parliamentary elections, Alexey Zaitsev, deputy director of the Information and Press Department at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a briefing.

"We expect that the scheduled general parliamentary elections in the country will be held peacefully and in accordance with Pakistani legislation," Zaitsev said. "We are ready to develop partnership relations with Islamabad regardless of the outcome."

On August 5, an Islamabad court sentenced Imran Khan, former Pakistani prime minister and leader of the opposition Movement for Justice (MFJ), to three years in prison on fraud charges stemming from the sale of assets from the state treasury. The sentence was accompanied by a five-year ban barring Khan from engaging in political activities. The former prime minister was arrested at his residence in Zaman Park, Lahore, shortly after the verdict was announced.

The charges of fraud and document forgery against the MFJ chairman, regarding illegal transactions for the sale of gifts given by leaders of Middle Eastern countries, were brought last year at the request of investigative bodies. The investigation charged that the former head of government and his spouse had misappropriated at least 52 gifts from the state treasury. The total market value of these gifts amounts to 154 million rupees (almost $2 million). These charges formed the basis of the criminal case against Khan. They became the first and one of the most high-profile among the 100 other charges later brought against the politician. The MFJ leader was removed as prime minister on April 10, 2022, after the Pakistani parliament passed a motion of no confidence in his government.