Imran Khan, His Wife Sentenced To 17 Years In Jail In Corruption Case

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 Khan is currently being held.

Khan and Bushra were handed 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. They were also fined with 16.4 million PKR each

Khan has denied wrongdoing in all the cases, which his party says are politically motivated.

"The court announced the sentence without hearing the defence and sentenced 17 years imprisonment to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi with heavy fines," Khan's family lawyer Rana Mudassar Uemr told Reuters.

The case is separate from an earlier state gifts prosecution linked to Khan’s August 2023 arrest. Earlier sentences of 14 years for Khan and seven years for Bushra Bibi were later suspended on appeal.

The cases are commonly known in Pakistan as the Toshakhana cases, referring to the state repository where gifts received by public officials are deposited.

With inputs from PTI and Reuters.