Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years in prison in ‘Toshakhana’ case،
Former Pakistan Prime Minister and 1992 ODI World Cup winning captain Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. The case, known in Pakistan as the Toshakhana reference, involves the sale of gifts given to him in his capacity as prime minister without declaring the profits for tax purposes. His wife Bushra Bibi was also convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Imran was also fined PKR 787 million (approximately $2.9 million). While he was already banned from running for political office for five years, this ban has now been extended to ten years.
The conviction and sentence comes a day after Imran was sentenced to ten years in prison on a separate charge – he had already been serving a three-year prison sentence since last August. Although this sentence, which also related to the sale of state gifts in what the court described as corrupt practices, was later suspended, Imran was not released from prison. His current 14-year sentence will run concurrently with his 10-year sentence, as is standard practice in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), the party that Imran founded and led to power in Pakistan's last general elections, said the proceedings “reveal a complete disregard for the law on the part of a court of first instance” and that “such a sham trial belonged in the trash”.
Imran's legal problems have only snowballed since he was removed as prime minister after a no-confidence vote in April 2022, with more than a hundred cases registered against him. However, this is the first time that the courts have also sentenced his wife to prison. Unlike Imran, she had not been previously incarcerated.
Their conviction comes against a backdrop of state repression against Imran. With general elections scheduled in Pakistan in eight days, the PTI has been completely banned from contesting. The political rallies they organized were dispersed and banned by the authorities. A rally in Karachi earlier this week was broken up by police, who fired tear gas and arrested dozens of PTI workers. For months, Imran's name was de facto banned from being mentioned on Pakistani television.
In recent months, when PTI attempted to hold virtual or online fundraisers, there were nationwide internet shutdowns, which coincided with the timing of the events. Authorities, however, said the two were not related.
The International Federation for Human Rights, in a statement after the 10-year sentence was announced Tuesday, said its findings revealed “a disturbing disregard for fundamental principles of justice and due process” after he was denied access to his chosen lawyer, which they called “a flagrant violation of the rights enshrined in international law.”
Opinion polls in the run-up to the election have been non-existent, but the most recent independent polls showed Imran to be the country's most popular politician. When he was arrested by paramilitary security forces in May 2023, violent uprisings took place across the country, leading to an internet blackout that lasted for several days; thousands of his political supporters were also arrested at the time.
There was no immediate statement from Imran or his lawyers after the conviction, although they are expected to appeal.
