Imran Khan, wife sentenced to jail in corruption case in Pakistan

Photo: AP

On Friday, Pakistan's former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and his wife, Bushra Bibi, was sentenced to seven years. The charges were related to the misuse of authority and corruption in connection with the Al-Qadir University Project Trust. Along with the prison sentences, Khan was fined 1 million Pakistani rupees (around $3,500), and his wife was fined 500,000 rupees.

The case was heard by an accountability court located in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, where Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023. The verdict had been delayed three times before, after being reserved in December last year. Bushra Bibi was arrested at the court while the decision was being announced. Khan had previously claimed the delays were attempts to pressure him.

This conviction adds to the list of legal troubles for Khan. Last January, he was convicted in three cases, including selling state gifts, leaking state secrets, and unlawful marriage. However, those convictions were either overturned or suspended. Despite this, Khan remains in prison, with many more cases pending, a situation he calls a political witch-hunt.

Khan was first arrested in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case in May 2023, though he spent only two days in detention. His arrest led to widespread protests across the country, with Khan’s supporters clashing with authorities in various cities.

Faisal Fareed Chaudhry, Khan’s lawyer, strongly criticized the verdict, calling it part of a "bogus persecution" campaign against Khan and his wife. He pointed out that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) could not prove any financial loss to the state or show any personal financial gain for Khan or his family from the Al-Qadir Trust. He argued that the case against them was politically motivated, saying that simply establishing a trust should not be seen as a conflict of interest.

Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), echoed the lawyer’s statements. In their first reaction to the verdict, the PTI claimed that the Al-Qadir Trust case lacked solid evidence and would eventually collapse. They emphasized that both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were only trustees of the trust and had no other involvement in any wrongdoing.

The charge sheet accused Khan and his wife of acquiring valuable land from Malik Riaz, a well-known property tycoon, to build a non-profit educational institute for the poor under the Al-Qadir Trust. The NAB claimed that Khan made a deal with Riaz while he was Prime Minister between 2018 and 2022, allowing him to launder more than $239 million, which resulted in major losses to the national treasury.

According to NAB, the PTI government provided legal protection to Riaz’s illicit money, which had been recovered by the UK’s National Crime Agency and returned to Pakistan. Khan was removed from office in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote, a move he believes was part of a conspiracy involving the military and the United States, which both deny.
The verdict comes at a time when the PTI and the current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have been in talks on various issues, including the possibility of Khan’s release. These talks have been ongoing, but analysts fear that the conviction could now derail the negotiations.

Hafiz Ahsaan Khokhar, a lawyer based in Islamabad, explained that the case involved long and detailed proceedings, with over 100 hearings in the past year. The main issue in the case was money laundering, and the NAB has strict rules about dishonesty and misuse of power by public officeholders. He also mentioned that both the Supreme Court and the federal cabinet were misled, and public funds were misused for personal gain.
Political analyst Majid Nizami pointed out that the Al-Qadir Trust case stands out due to the large amount of evidence presented and the time taken for prosecution. He acknowledged that there were irregularities in the case that justified investigation. However, he also warned that in Pakistan, political victimization often overshadows the search for justice.

As the PTI and the government continued their negotiations, Nizami expressed concern that the conviction might harm the peace talks. He noted that the party’s internal divisions could intensify, with some factions pushing for resistance, while others support dialogue. This might lead to a more aggressive approach from the PTI in the future.

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