Pakistan sentences former PM Imran Khan, wife, to 17 years in graft case

A Pakistani court convicts and sentences imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison after finding them guilty of retaining and selling state gifts, officials and his party say.

The couple pleaded not guilty when they were indicted last year. They were accused of selling the gifts, including jewelry from Saudi Arabia’s government, at prices far below their market value while he was in office.

Khan’s spokesperson, Zulfiquar Bukhari, says the verdict in the graft case ignored basic principles of justice. In a statement, he says that the “criminal liability was imposed without proof of intent, gain, or loss, relying instead on a retrospective reinterpretation of rules.

Bukhari says the court ruling “raised serious questions about the fairness and impartiality of the process, turning justice into a tool for selective prosecution.”

Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party denounces the verdict in a statement, calling it “a black chapter in history,” and says Khan was present in the court when the judge announced the verdict in the Adiala prison in the city of Rawalpindi.

Khan, 73, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, and his party is in opposition in the parliament. He has been serving multiple prison terms since 2023 on corruption convictions and other charges that the former cricket star and his supporters have alleged are aimed at blocking his political career.