ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, have been sentenced to 17 years in prison after a court found them guilty of illegally keeping and selling valuable state gifts.
The verdict, delivered on Saturday, concludes a years-long case in which the couple faced allegations of selling gifts, including jewelry from the Saudi Arabian government, at prices far below their market value. Both Khan and Bibi have denied the charges, Aljazeera reported.
Under Pakistani law, officials must purchase gifts received from foreign dignitaries at market value and report any profits from their sale. Prosecutors argued that the couple bought the items for just $10,000, despite their actual market value of $285,521, and profited from the transactions.
Supporters of Khan condemned the verdict. His spokesperson, Zulfikar Bukhari, said the ruling “imposed criminal liability without evidence of intent, gain, or loss, relying on a retrospective reinterpretation of rules.” His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), called the proceedings a “sham” and described the sentence as “a black chapter in history.”
PTI also stated that Khan was present in the court when the verdict was announced at Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi, but his family was not allowed to attend. The party described the trial as a “closed-door jail trial” that was “neither free nor fair” and likened it to a “military trial.”
However, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar defended the ruling, stating that the court examined solid evidence and found the couple guilty of corruption. He said the decision was fair and just.
(Inputs from Aljazeera)
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