 "Imran Khan 14 years and his wife 7 years in prison, on the order of the court, the situation in Pakistan may deteriorate again.")
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in a corruption case. He has been sentenced by a court of Pakistan in the Al Qadir University Trust corruption case. The court has sentenced Imran Khan to 14 years in prison, while his wife Bushra Bibi has been sentenced to 7 years in a major corruption case of 190 million pounds.
Imran Khan has also been fined 1 million Pakistani rupees and his wife 500,000 Pakistani rupees. Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) registered a case against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi and six others in December 2023. In it, he was accused of causing a loss of 190 million pounds (50 billion Pakistani rupees) to the national exchequer.
However, according to a Dawn report, only Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi have been prosecuted. As other accused including a leading property dealer are currently out of Pakistan. Immediately after the verdict, Bushra Bibi was arrested.
Imran Khan is already in jail. The allegations claim that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi facilitated the transfer of billions of rupees and hundreds of kanals of land from Bahria Town Limited. In return, 50 billion rupees returned to Pakistan by the United Kingdom during Khan’s tenure were legalized. It was also alleged that funds earmarked for the national treasury were allegedly used for personal gain, including the establishment of Al-Qadir University in Jhelum.
As a trustee of the Al-Qadir Trust, Bushra Bibi is accused of directly benefiting from the settlement. Imran Khan, who is currently in jail, has denied the allegations. He called the allegations “politically motivated”. He was previously imprisoned in connection with several legal cases in 2023, although he was acquitted in the high-profile Toshakhana and Idat cases. NAB lawyers argued that Khan and Bibi, acting with “intent to defame”, refused to provide justification or documentation regarding the transaction.
Let us tell you that in November last year, there were protests across Pakistan to get Imran Khan out of jail. There was a lot of violence during this period. Thousands of workers of Imran Khan’s party News-Patiala were arrested. In early May, during the protests, activists also entered the army headquarters. Similar apprehensions are being expressed about the new court decision.