A Pakistani court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to 14 years and 7 years in prison respectively for corruption cases

A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced the country’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to 14 and seven years in prison on corruption charges, officials and their lawyers said.

This is another blow for the former prime minister, who has been in prison since 2023.

The couple are accused of accepting land gifts from real estate tycoons during Khan’s regime in exchange for money laundering.

Prosecutors said Khan then allowed businessman Malik Riaz to use British authorities to return 190 million pounds ($240 million) of laundered funds to Pakistan in 2022 to pay the fine imposed on him in a separate case. fine.

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Khan has denied wrongdoing and insisted that all the accusations against him since his arrest in 2023 were a conspiracy by rivals to prevent him from returning to office.

Khan smiled as Judge Nasir Javed read out the verdict, and so did his wife, Bushra Bibi, according to Khan’s legal team.

Khan and Bibi were detained by prison officials after the verdict was announced, according to officials. She was previously jailed for another corruption case and was released on court bail in October. She recently led a rally calling for her husband’s release.

Later, Khan posted on his account on the X platform urging his supporters not to panic over the verdict, according to which Qadir University, built by his wife’s charity, will also be taken over by the Punjab provincial authorities.

Khan said: “I will never accept this dictatorship and I will stay in the cell as long as necessary to fight against this dictatorship, but I will not compromise on my principles and the fight for the true freedom of the country. .Khan’s family said the posts were shared with his consent.

Defense lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said the court decision could be challenged in the High Court.

Shortly after the verdict was announced, lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rallied outside parliament in the capital, Islamabad, saying the former prime minister had been wrongly punished.

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A guard protects a vehicle outside a compound in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/WK Yousufzai)

Senior party leader Omar Ayub Khan, who is not related to the former prime minister, said: “This is a false case and we will approach the Court of Appeal against this decision.”

Imran Khan, who was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022, was previously sentenced to 10 years in three separate sentences after being convicted of corruption, leaking official secrets and breaching marriage laws. years, 14 years and 7 years in prison. Under Pakistani law, he will serve the maximum sentence concurrently.

Some of Khan’s supporters were also present outside the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi city, shouting slogans against the government and demanding the release of their leader.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters in Islamabad on Thursday that there was “irrefutable evidence” implicating Khan and his wife in a “mega-corruption scandal”. Talal said Khan did not even tell members of his cabinet about the money Britain had returned to Pakistan.

Talal also claimed that Khan built a large new house in the eastern city of Lahore after providing benefits to the business tycoon, but he was unable to prove where he got the funds to build the house.

The latest development comes a day after Khan’s PTI party held a crucial round of talks with representatives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, demanding the release of all political prisoners, including Khan and other party leaders.

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Sharif became prime minister after elections in February 2024, which PTI claimed were rigged.