Imran Khan, wife Bushra Bibi sentenced to 17-year jail terms in corruption case

FORMER Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have been sentenced to 17 years in prison in a corruption case, PTI news agency has revealed, citing local media.

The case is regarding the alleged fraud carried out by Khan and his wife in state gifts, which they received in 2021 from the government of Saudi Arabia.

The sentence was announced by special court judge Shahrukh Arjumand in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Khan and his wife were awarded 10 years' each of rigorous imprisonment under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Pakistan Penal Code. They were also handed seven years of imprisonment each under various sections of the country's Prevention of Corruption Act.

The former first couple was also fined ₹10 million each by the court.

Khan was first arrested on 9 May 2023, on charges of corruption. Later, in August 2023, he was arrested again in the Toshakhana case.

Khan's first arrest was carried out within the premises of the Islamabad High Court by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The case was first filed in July 2024, where it was alleged that valuable items like expensive watches, diamonds and gold were stolen by Khan and his wife from the Toshakhana (Pakistan government's gift repository)

Bushra Bibi was granted bail by the Islamabad High Court in the Toshakhana case in October 2024, while Khan also got bail in November. Only a month later, in December 2024, the couple was indicted.

Khan and his wife have been incarcerated in the Adiala Jail, where the prosecution process was being carried out, since their conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Khan's sons open up about his incarceration

Khan's sons, Kasim and Sulaiman Khan, recently spoke out about the alleged inhuman conditions in which their father was being kept in prison. In an interview with Sky News' The World with Yalda Hakim, the siblings alleged that their father was being "psychologically tortured" in a "death cell".

“He's been in a solitary confinement cell for over two years where he's had filthy water, he is around inmates who are dying of hepatitis, the conditions are disgusting and also he is completely isolated from any human contact,” Kasim said.

“It's getting harder to see a route out at this point. We're trying to have faith. But at the same time, right now, the conditions are getting worse,” he continued, adding, "It's very hard to see a way out… We're now worried we might never see him again."

The new sentencing of the former Pak PM and cricket World Cup-winning captain comes amid a wave of criticism of the Pakistan government over the alleged mistreatment of Khan inside the prison, with even the United Nations calling for Khan to be released from solitary confinement.