Former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, have been found guilty of selling state gifts illegally and have been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
An accountability court in Rawalpindi, which hears cases involving corruption, decided on Wednesday that the pair will also be barred from running for public office for ten years and fined seven hundred and seventy-seven million rupees ($2.7 million).
Khan was sentenced to ten years in jail the day before for revealing state secrets. Whether the sentences were meant to run simultaneously or consecutively was not immediately apparent.
In August, Khan received a three-year prison term for selling gifts that totalled over 140 million rupees ($501,000) that he received during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to April 2022.
Even though he was granted bail, he was still being held awaiting trial in other matters.
A week prior to the February 8 general elections, convictions were handed down against the politician who is undoubtedly the most popular in Pakistan.
Since the majority of its candidates are running as independents, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has already lost its electoral symbol.
The sentencing of Khan, according to PTI spokesman Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari, was “yet another sad day in Pakistan’s judicial history” and its validity was questioned.
He said to reporters, “Judiciary is being dismantled. A flawed decision meant to be suspended by the higher court, as witnesses clearly seemed compromised.
“Star witnesses were changed… with no cross questioning allowed, no final argument concluded, and the decision pops up like a predetermined process in play. This ridiculous decision will be challenged in superior courts.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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