New 17-year prison sentence: corruption cases continue to haunt Imran Khan and his wife

A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 17 years in prison after convicting them in a corruption case related to the handling of official gifts presented to the state and later purchased at prices below their true market value.

According to the court ruling and Khan’s lawyer, the verdict includes a ten-year prison sentence with hard labor for each defendant under Pakistan’s Penal Code on charges of breach of trust, in addition to a further seven years under anti-corruption laws. The court also imposed a fine of 16.4 million rupees on each of them.

The case revolves around luxury gifts that were presented to Imran Khan. Prosecutors said that Khan and his wife subsequently purchased these items from the state treasury at extremely low prices, in clear violation of Pakistan’s laws governing official gifts.

This ruling adds to a long series of legal cases pursuing Imran Khan, who has been imprisoned since August 2023. Since his removal from office in 2022, he has faced dozens of charges, ranging from corruption to the disclosure of state secrets.

Imran Khan has denied any wrongdoing in all the cases filed against him, while his party maintains that the rulings are politically motivated and form part of a broader effort to sideline him from the political arena.

Rana Mudassir Umar, a lawyer for the Khan family, told Reuters that the court issued its ruling “without hearing the defense team,” describing the decision as “unjust” and stating that it would be appealed before higher courts.

The court confirmed that the current case is separate from an earlier case involving state gifts, which was one of the reasons behind Imran Khan’s arrest in August 2023, underscoring the ongoing legal challenges facing the former prime minister amid a highly tense political climate in the country.