Former Pakistan Prime Minister and 1992 World Cup-winning cricket captain Imran Khan received a 17-year prison sentence along with his wife, Bushra Bibi, in another graft case.
The conviction involves the under-priced purchase of luxury state gifts, including watches that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gifted to Khan during official visits.
The court imposed 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under Pakistan’s penal code for criminal breach of trust and seven years under anti-corruption laws. Judges also levied fines of 16.4 million rupees each. Moreover, Khan’s lawyer Rana Mudassar Umer argued that the court announced the sentence without hearing the defence.
This ruling further adds to Khan’s mounting legal troubles. Since his ouster from office in 2022, prosecutors have filed dozens of cases against him, ranging from graft to anti-terrorism and state secrets charges. Authorities jailed him in August 2023. Furthermore, Khan denied wrongdoing in all cases, while his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), insisted that the prosecutions are politically motivated.
The Toshakhana cases, named after the state repository where public officials deposit gifts, have become a major flashpoint in Pakistan’s politics. Earlier, judges sentenced Khan to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to seven years in a related case, but higher courts suspended those convictions on appeal.
Consequently, Khan, one of Pakistan’s most polarising figures, continues to fight legal challenges as his PTI party remains sidelined from power.
