Metropolis Desk-
Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and his spouse were found guilty of graft in a case concerning gifts he accepted while serving as prime minister, and they were sentenced to 14 years in prison today.
The decision was made one day after Khan was handed a ten-year prison sentence in connection with leaking state secrets, one week before the national elections.
“Another sad day in the history of our judicial system, which is being dismantled,” a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesman told reporters.
Whether Khan’s sentences were to be served concurrently or consecutively was not immediately apparent after the trial, which took place within the jail where he had been held for the majority of the time since his arrest in August.
However, Khan’s attorney, Salman Safdar, told AFP that his client, Bushra Bibi, who had been detained during the trial, had also received a sentence.
“Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan have received sentences. As of right now, Bushra Bibi is not in custody, according to Safdar.
2018 saw the couple get married, just before Khan was chosen to be prime minister.
Seldom seen in public, Bibi is a faith healer who first connected with Khan after he asked her for spiritual advice.
On election day next Thursday, approximately 127 million Pakistanis are eligible to cast ballots; despite being pushed out of the spotlight, Khan and the PTI will be hot topics of discussion.
Allegations of ballot tampering have already clouded the results, with Khan disqualified from contesting due to a prior conviction for graft and his party facing severe restrictions.
Khan claims that a series of court cases that he claims were started to prevent his return to office following a campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s military rulers have buried him since his ousting in 2022.
Khan had claimed that his overthrow was the result of a US-backed plot and that the strong military, with whom he ruled in tandem for the majority of his term, was behind it.
Nationwide riots occurred in May of last year following Khan’s initial arrest.
However, a military crackdown that saw thousands of supporters arrested—of whom 100 are now awaiting secret military trials—and dozens of senior leaders driven underground destroyed his street cred.
Khan responded to his 10-year sentence on Tuesday by saying, “You have to take revenge for every injustice with your vote on February 8,” in a statement that was uploaded on his X profile. Tell them that we are not sheep that can be driven with a stick.”
Source- AFP
