Thailand's jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has requested a royal pardon, a government source told AFP Thursday.

The senior aide to caretaker justice minister Wissanu Krea-ngam confirmed to AFP that Thaksin had applied for a pardon over the eight-year jail term he is serving for convictions for graft and abuse of power. Thai media had also cited Wissanu directly as saying Thaksin had applied for the pardon.