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A Pakistani court has found former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi guilty of storing and selling state gifts and sentenced them to 17 years in prison.
The couple pleaded not guilty when they were indicted last year. They were accused of selling gifts, including jewelry, from the Saudi government during his tenure at prices well below market value.
Prosecutors said the Khans declared the gift’s value at just over 8,500 euros, far below its actual market value of 244,700 euros, allowing them to buy it at a discount.
Mr Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar said he would appeal the verdict on behalf of the former prime minister and his wife.
Under Pakistani law, government officials and politicians who keep gifts received from foreign dignitaries must buy them at market value and declare the proceeds from their sale.
Mr Khan’s spokesman Zulfiqur Bukhari said Saturday’s verdict ignored fundamental principles of justice. “Criminal charges were imposed without proof of intent, profit or loss, relying instead on a retrospective reinterpretation of the rules,” he said in a statement.
Buhari said the court’s decision “raises serious questions about procedural fairness and impartiality, turning justice into a tool for selective prosecution.”
Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI) condemned the verdict as a “black chapter in history” in a statement and said Khan was also present in the courtroom when the judge announced the verdict at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
The X Party wrote on its official account that Khan’s family members were not allowed to enter the courtroom when the verdict was announced. “Private trials in prisons are neither free nor fair. They are, in effect, military trials.”
“There is no rule of law in Pakistan,” PTI official Omar Ayub told X.
Meanwhile, Information Minister Ataullah Tallah said that Khan and his wife were found guilty and sentenced after the court examined solid evidence. He said the couple had indulged in corruption and said “the court has given a fair verdict”.
Khan, 73, was ousted in a vote of no confidence in April 2022, and his party is now in opposition in parliament. However, it remains popular in Pakistan.
His party performed well in the February 8, 2024 parliamentary elections, but failed to win a majority of seats in the National Assembly or the House of Representatives. The party claimed the vote was fraudulent. The government denies such claims.
Khan’s main political opponent, Shehbaz Sharif, is the country’s current prime minister. Since his ouster, Khan has repeatedly claimed that his ouster was the result of a U.S.-backed conspiracy carried out with the support of Pakistan’s powerful military, a claim denied by the U.S. government, military and his opponents.
The former prime minister has been serving multiple prison terms since 2023, including for corruption convictions, and former cricket stars and supporters claim the move is aimed at sabotaging his political career.