A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years imprisonment in a land corruption case.
The judgment, said to involve the largest financial wrongdoing case Khan has faced, was delivered by an anti-graft court in a prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Khan has been jailed since August 2023.
The 72-year-old former cricket star was indicted on charges that he and his wife were gifted land by a real estate developer during his premiership from 2018 to 2022 in exchange for illegal favours.
Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, pleaded not guilty.
The announcement of the ruling was, however, delayed three times, most recently on Monday, following talks between the government and Khan’s party.
Arogidigba Global Journal gathered that Bushra Bibi, who is in her late 40s and was out on bail, was taken into custody after she was also convicted in the case.
“Whilst we wait for the detailed decision, it’s important to note that the Al Qadir Trust case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi lacks any solid foundation and is bound to collapse,” said the foreign media wing of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in a statement.
The judgment is regarded as the biggest setback for Khan and his party since their surprisingly strong performance in the 2024 general election, when their candidates, forced to contest as independents, won the most seats but fell short of the majority needed to form a government.
Jailed since August 2023, Khan has been facing dozens of cases ranging from charges of graft and misuse of power to inciting violence against the state after his removal from office in a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022.
He has either been acquitted or had his sentences suspended in most cases, except for one involving charges of inciting supporters to rampage through military facilities to protest against his arrest on May 9, 2023.
His supporters have led several violent protest rallies since the incidents of May 9.