MONITORING (SW) – Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was on Friday sentenced to 14 years in prison, and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years in a case related to the misuse of authority and corruption involving Khan’s Al-Qadir University Project Trust.
Khan was also given a fine of 1 million Pakistani rupees ($3,500), while Bibi was fined half that amount, reported Al Jazeera.
An accountability court operating from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023, had reserved its verdict in December last year and deferred the announcement three times. Bibi was arrested from the court premises.
Khan, who did not appear before the court on January 13 when the decision was delayed for a third time, had earlier claimed the delays were an attempt to “pressurise” him.
This marks the fourth major case in which the former prime minister has been convicted.
Three earlier convictions, announced in January last year, were related to selling state gifts, leaking state secrets, and unlawful marriage, all of which were overturned or suspended. Despite this, Khan remains behind bars, with dozens of cases pending against him – a situation he describes as a political witch-hunt.
Khan was first arrested in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case in May 2023, spending less than two days in detention. However, the arrest led to nationwide protests during which Khan’s supporters rioted in multiple cities.
Khan was ousted from power in April 2022 via a parliamentary vote of no confidence, which he attributes to a conspiracy involving the country’s military and the United States, allegations both have denied.
Pakistan’s military has held significant political influence, ruling the nation directly for nearly three decades since its formation in 1947, and was once seen as Khan’s benefactor and architect of his rise to power, before the two fell out. While no prime minister in Pakistan’s history has completed their tenure, three of four military dictators ruled for nearly a decade each.
