Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan, wife Bushra Bibi sentenced to 17 years in corruption case

According to the news agency PTI citing local media, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi, have been given 17 years of imprisonment each in a corruption case concerning the alleged unlawful use of state gifts.

Special Court Judge Shahrukh Arjumand pronounced the judgment inside Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, where Khan has been held. The said wrongful handling of the gifts sent by Saudi Arabia in 2021 is the main issue in the lawsuit, which involved their placement in Toshakhana, the Pakistan government's positive' gift store'.

The court ruled that based on the Pakistan Penal Code's Section 409 covering criminal breach of trust, Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were to serve 10 years with hard labor. In addition, the accused were sentenced to seven years each for different violations of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Moreover, the court decreed a fine of ₹10 million each upon the former prime minister and his spouse.

Imran Khan's first apprehension was on the 9th of May, 2023, for one corruption matter, and thereafter, in August 2023, he was taken into custody again concerning the Toshakhana case.The official case was opened in July 2024, accusing that the expensive items which the couple had wrongly kept or sold included luxury watches, diamonds, and gold.

The sentence has been pronounced at a time of rising international and domestic criticism of Khan's imprisonment, which the UN had previously expressed concern over and called for the end of his prolonged solitary confinement.

Khan's first arrest was conducted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from the Islamabad High Court premises, and it instigated a nationwide political crisis in Pakistan.