A Pakistani court sentences former PM Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years for corruption involving undervalued state gifts.
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison on Saturday for corruption involving state gifts.
The ruling marks the latest legal blow for Khan, who has faced numerous cases since his government was ousted in 2022.
Khan, already incarcerated since 2023, has consistently denied all charges and accuses authorities of political persecution.
The couple received a 10-year sentence for criminal breach of trust and a separate seven-year term for corruption related to the alleged underpricing of gifts.
Pakistani law requires officials to declare all gifts but permits them to keep low-value items or purchase them at a discounted rate.
Saturday’s conviction specifically involved undervaluing a Bulgari jewellery set gifted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in May 2021.
This case is distinct from an earlier conviction where Khan was sentenced to 14 years and Bibi seven years over luxury watches from the same donor.
In a post on X, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party denounced the latest conviction from what it called a “kangaroo court”.
“The entire world knows these cases are politically motivated,” the party stated.
Party spokesman Syed Zulfikhar Bukhari told AFP the ruling “ignores basic principles of justice”.
He argued criminal liability was imposed without proof of intent, gain, or loss based on a retrospective rule reinterpretation.
Khan’s family has intensified efforts to highlight his prison conditions.
In a recent Sky News interview, his son Kasim Khan said his father was in “complete isolation” and barred from communicating even with guards.
“It’s all kind of psychological torture tactics. No contact with family, no contact with personal physician or anything like that,” he said.
Pakistan’s government has repeatedly rejected such allegations.
