Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan gets 14-year jail term in graft case

A Pakistan court, on January 17 declared former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi guilty of corruption in the 190 million pounds al-Qadir Trust case.

Imran Khan was slapped a 14-year jail term, while Bushra Bibi was sentenced to seven years in prison. 

The court also imposed fines of 1 million Pakistani rupees on Khan and 500,000 Pakistani rupees on his spouse.

Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed the case in December 2023 against Khan, 72, Bibi, 50, and six others, accusing them of causing a loss of £190 million (50 billion Pakistani rupees) to the national exchequer.

Judge Nasir Javed Rana of the anti-corruption court announced the verdict that had been deferred thrice due to different reasons, last time on January 13.  

The judge announced the verdict in a makeshift court set up in Adila jail. 

Only Khan and Bibi have been prosecuted as all others, including a property tycoon, were out of the country.

The case revolves around allegations that an amount of PRs50 billion, returned to Pakistan by the UK's National Crime Agency as part of a settlement with a property tycoon, was misused.

The funds were reportedly intended for the national treasury but were allegedly redirected for the personal benefit of the businessman who helped Bibi and Khan to set up a university.

Bibi, as a trustee of the Al-Qadir Trust, is accused of benefiting from this settlement, including acquiring 458 kanals of land for Al-Qadir University in Jhelum.

Khan, who is currently lodged in prison, has denied the charges, calling them “politically motivated.” He was previously incarcerated in 2023 on multiple legal cases, although he was acquitted in high-profile Toshakhana and Iddat cases.

NAB prosecutors argued that Khan and Bibi refused to provide justifications or documentation regarding the transactions, acting with “mala fide intention.”