A Pakistani court has handed down a 14-year prison sentence to the country’s former prime minister, Imran Khan, after convicting him of corruption. His wife, Bushra Bibi, was also sentenced to seven years in connection with the same case.
According to ABC News, the court’s decision relates to allegations that Khan and Bibi misused funds from a welfare foundation they established together, known as the Al-Qadir Trust. The couple was accused of accepting a land gift from real estate tycoon Malik Riaz in exchange for laundered money while Khan was in power. Prosecutors allege that Riaz later used this laundered money, amounting to £190 million ($373 million), to pay fines imposed on him, which were returned to Pakistan by British authorities in 2022.
Faith healer Bushra Bibi, who had recently been released on bail, was taken into custody immediately after the conviction. Both Khan and Bibi have maintained their innocence, with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party claiming the Al-Qadir Trust’s land was meant for a spiritual and educational institution, not personal gain.
“Whilst we wait for a detailed decision, it’s important to note that the Al-Qadir Trust case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi lacks any solid foundation and is bound to collapse,” PTI’s foreign media wing said in a statement.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar confirmed that Khan’s party could appeal the ruling in higher courts or file a mercy petition with Pakistan’s president. Omar Ayub, a senior aide to Khan, announced that PTI would challenge the verdict.
The judgment was delivered in a prison court in Rawalpindi, where Khan has been held since August 2023. The verdict’s announcement was delayed multiple times, most recently on Monday, amid reconciliation talks between PTI and the government. These two factions have been in conflict since Khan was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022.
While imprisoned, Khan has faced dozens of legal cases, including allegations of graft, misuse of power, and incitement of violence against the state. Although he has been acquitted or had sentences suspended in most cases, this conviction, along with another case involving protests at military facilities, remains active. His supporters have staged several violent demonstrations since his arrest in May 2023.
Khan, who denies any wrongdoing, insists that the charges against him are politically motivated, aimed at preventing his return to power. Barred from standing in February’s election, his PTI party still won more seats than any other but was excluded from power by a coalition favored by the military establishment. A UN panel of experts previously deemed Khan’s detention baseless, suggesting it was designed to disqualify him from political office.
Khan has already been convicted on charges of corruption, revealing state secrets, and violating marriage laws in other cases, receiving sentences of 10, 14, and seven years respectively. Under Pakistani law, sentences are served concurrently, meaning Khan will serve the length of the longest sentence—14 years.