CORRUPTION – Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan was Wednesday morning sentenced to 14 years in jail on a graft charge just one day after he was given a 10-year prison term a week before national elections.
Details of their Misconducts in Office
Former cricketer Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were both found guilty of retaining and selling state gifts he received while in office for personal profit.
Their sentences were handed down mere hours after Khan was slapped with a 10-year sentence yesterday in a case related to leaking state secrets.
It comes as the country of 240 million goes to the polls next Thursday in a ballot already marred by allegations of rigging, with Khan barred from running and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party subject to a massive crackdown.
‘Another sad day in our judicial system history, which is being dismantled,’ a party spokesman told media.
What the Sentencing means to Pakistan
The sentencing of Khan has also heralded the return of Nawaz Sharif – head of one of the two dynastic parties that have historically helmed Pakistan – whose own raft of convictions for corruption have been wiped.
It was not immediately clear if Khan’s sentences were to run consecutively or concurrently following a trial held inside the jail where he has been detained for much of the time since his arrest in August.
But his lawyer, Salman Safdar, confirmed he had been sentenced alongside his wife, Bushra Bibi, who had been on remand throughout the trial.
Intazar Hussain Panjutha, a member of Khan’s legal team, said Bibi had surrendered herself to authorities.
Who is Bibi, Imran Khan’s Wife?
Bibi, a faith healer who met Khan when he approached her for spiritual guidance, rarely appears in public and only wearing a face-covering hijab when she does.
The pair married in 2018, months before Khan was elected prime minister.
Khan Thinks it is a Conspiracy
Since being ousted in 2022, Khan has been buried by court cases he claims have been triggered to prevent his return to office after a campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s military kingmakers.
The 71-year-old had accused the powerful military – with whom he ruled in partnership for much of his tenure – of orchestrating his ouster in a US-backed conspiracy.
Street Power vs Military
When Khan was first arrested in May last year, riots broke out across the country.
But his street power was killed by a military crackdown that saw thousands of supporters detained – 100 of whom are facing closed-door military trials – and dozens of senior leaders forced underground.
‘You have to take revenge for every injustice with your vote on February 8,’ Khan said in a statement posted on his X profile reacting to his 10-year sentence on Tuesday.
‘Tell them that we are not sheep that can be driven with a stick.’
