By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A special court on Wednesday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 14 years in prison each for illegally retaining gifts they received from foreign dignitaries while in office.
The couple was convicted in the Toshakhana reference, which involved concealing details of the gifts they retained from the state repository where such presents are kept.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of misusing his premiership from 2018 to 2022 to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad. Protocol requires prime ministers to store the objects in the state’s safe house, while Khan is accused of having sold them at a profit.
The verdict was delivered by Judge Mohammad Bashir at a high-security prison in Rawalpindi, where Khan has been held since December.
The sentencing by an anti-graft court comes a day after Khan was handed a 10-year jail term in another case in which he was convicted of revealing state secrets, and a week before national elections.
Former foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, also received the same sentence in that case, which was brought under the Official Secrets Act.
Khan and Bibi, a spiritual leader, were also fined Rs787 million each and barred from holding any public office for 10 years.
Bibi did not appear in court on Wednesday, while Khan refused to submit his statement, saying he would do so after consulting his lawyers, who were not present.
“My statement is in the [prison] room. I was only called for marking attendance,” Khan was quoted as saying my media. “Why are you (judge) in a hurry? Even yesterday, the conviction was announced in haste.”
“My lawyers are not here yet. I will submit the statement after showing it to them when they come.”
The judge had earlier closed the right of cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses and asked the couple to record their statements under a section of the criminal procedure code that allows the court to examine the accused.
Khan has maintained his innocence and accused military establishment of orchestrating a political vendetta against him.
“Another sad day in our judicial system history, which is being dismantled,” Khan’s media team said.
“No cross questioning allowed, no final argument concluded and decision pops up like a pre-determined process in play,” it said, adding “This ridiculous decision will also be challenged.”
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