Imran Khan, his wife sentenced to 17 years in jail

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 17 years in jail each by a court on Saturday in the Toshakhana 2 corruption case.

Khan, 73, who has been in jail since August 2023, faces multiple cases launched against him since his ouster from power in April 2022. The Toshakhana 2 case involves alleged fraud in state gifts that the former first couple received from the Saudi Government in 2021. Special court judge Shahrukh Arjumand announced the judgment in the case at Rawalpindi’s high-security Adiala Jail, where the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder is currently being held. Khan and Bushra were awarded 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Pakistan Penal Code and seven years under different sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court also imposed a fine of PKR 16.4 million on each of them.

“This court, while passing sentences, has considered the old age of Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, as well as the fact that Bushra Imran Khan is a female. It is in consideration of both said factors that a lenient view has been taken in awarding lesser punishment,” according to the judgment.

It added that the benefit of Section 382-B (period of detention to be considered while awarding sentence of imprisonment) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was “hereby given to the convicts.”

A total of 21 witnesses appeared before the court during the trial.

Khan and Bushra were present in the court when the judgment was announced. Khan, in his recorded statement under Section 342 of the CrPC in the case, had rejected the allegations. He alleged that the case was “malicious, fabricated, and politically engineered.”

The case was filed in July 2024 and was based on allegations that valuable items, including expensive watches, as well as diamond and gold jewellery sets, were sold by the former couple without being deposited in the Toshakhana - the state gift repository. Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani told Geo News that the gifts were not deposited, which they were legally bound to do.

Terming the incident “unfortunate”, he said, “according to facts that came to light during the legal proceedings, the set’s actual value was Rs 70 million; however, its valuation was done at Rs 5.8-5.9 million”. “Unfortunately, Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan attempted to buy the set at throwaway rates,” he said.

The Toshakhana is a department under the Cabinet Division that stores gifts given to rulers and Government officials by heads of other Governments and foreign dignitaries. Once deposited, the gifts can be bought back following proper rules and procedures.

In October 2024, Bushra was granted bail by the Islamabad High Court in this case, and a month later, Khan was also granted bail in the same case. They were indicted in December last year.

Meanwhile, the prosecution process went on in the Adiala Jail, where both Khan and his wife have already been incarcerated after conviction earlier this year in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Both convicts can file appeals in the High Court against their convictions.

An unannounced ban has been placed on meeting Khan, who has been in prison since August 2023 in multiple cases, for more than a month. The last meeting with Khan was held on December 2, when his sister Uzma Khan was allowed to see him.

Adiala Jail authorities, however, claimed that the former cricketer-turned politician is in “good health”.

Last week, UN Special Rapporteur on torture Alice Jill Edwards called on the Pakistan Government to take immediate and effective action to address reports of “inhumane and undignified detention conditions” of Khan in jail.

“Khan’s solitary confinement should be lifted without delay. Not only is it an unlawful measure, extended isolation can also bring about very harmful consequences for his physical and mental health,” she said.

According to reports, Khan is not permitted outdoor activity or interaction with other detainees and is unable to join communal prayers. Visits from lawyers, family members and others authorised by the courts are frequently interrupted or ended prematurely.

Khan served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022.