Imran Khan and wife sentenced for state gift fraud
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced to further prison terms following a fraud case related to government gifts.
They were found guilty of violating Pakistan’s rules on gifts after Bibi was given a luxury jewel identified by Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman during an official visit in 2021.
The pair are currently serving prison terms for their previous convictions, and the new sentences (10 years for breach of trust, 7 years for criminal misconduct and a fine) will reportedly run concurrently with their previous sentences.
Khan said the charges were politically motivated and his lawyer told BBC News his team planned to appeal the verdict.
Speaking to the BBC after the sentence, the former prime minister’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, said that Khan and his wife were not present at the hearing.
Mr Safdar said his legal team was only informed of the sentence late on Friday night, after normal hearing hours.
Mr Safdar said they planned to challenge the decision in the high court.
This case is the latest in a series of charges against the cricket star politician, who has been detained since August 2023. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in January in a separate corruption case.
He faced charges More than 100 cases, from leaking state secrets to selling state gifts. The BBC was unable to confirm the exact number brought against him.
The jewelry case, referred to as Toshakhana 2 in Pakistan, concerns a Bulgari jewelry set that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave to Bushra Bibi during a state visit in 2021, according to court documents.
According to Pakistan’s rules on state gifts, these items go to Pakistan’s Toshakana department (state treasury), although politicians can buy them back.
Khan allegedly asked a private firm to reduce the value of the jewelery set before buying it back at a significantly discounted price.
In addition to the double prison sentence, a fine of 16 million Pakistani rupees (£42,600) was imposed.
Khan was previously acquitted in a separate Toshakhana case.
The former leader still has other cases filed against him.
These include terrorism charges related to violent protests on May 9, 2023, for which he was previously arrested.
Khan was Pakistan’s prime minister until he was removed by a confidence vote in April 2022.
Although not publicly visible, his social media accounts continued to operate with messages attributed to him on X, often appearing after prison visits.
These were highly critical of Pakistan’s current government and politically powerful military Chief Marshal Asım MünirIncluding posts calling him a cruel dictator.
No visitors were allowed for almost a month in November.
After campaigning by his family and his party, his sister was allowed to visit in early December; A few hours after seeing him, a comment attributed to Khan was posted on his account, describing Field Marshal Asim Munir as a “mentally unstable person”.
Since then, Khan has not been allowed to visit family.
According to an official at the prison, Khan and his wife were present when the verdict was announced but no journalists were allowed to observe.
The decision states that the judge was lenient in giving the sentence due to Khan’s “old age”.
