A Pakistani court has handed down a significant prison sentence to the nation’s former prime minister in connection with a major corruption case involving a real estate project.
Imran Khan, Pakistan’s ex-prime minister, and his wife, Bushra Bibi, have been found guilty in a £190 million ($232 million) land fraud case related to the Al-Qadir Trust, as reported by Pakistani media outlets on Friday. An anti-corruption court in Rawalpindi sentenced Khan to 14 years imprisonment and Bibi to seven years. The ruling was delivered at Adiala Jail.
The court also imposed fines of $3,600 on Khan and $1,800 on Bibi, with additional jail time as a penalty for non-payment.
The Al-Qadir Trust case centers on accusations that Khan and Bibi engaged in a deal where they received valuable land from a property developer in exchange for providing legal protection. This allegedly occurred during the establishment of a university.
Khan has rejected the accusations, describing them as politically motivated. Before the verdict, he asserted the case lacked evidence and would reflect negatively on the authorities. He stated, “My sentencing is being sought in a case where neither have I derived a single penny of personal gain, nor has the government suffered a single penny of financial loss,”
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party denounced the verdict as a “black verdict,” and shared video footage appearing to show protests outside the National Assembly.
Khan, a former cricketer who transitioned into politics, served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. He was removed from office via a no-confidence vote, with accusations of economic and foreign policy mismanagement leveled against him by the opposition. Khan, however, maintains that his removal was the result of a US conspiracy.
He has faced numerous legal challenges, with additional corruption charges pending. In 2023, he was convicted of illegally buying and selling state gifts received during his time as prime minister, although that sentence was suspended. A year later, he received a ten-year sentence for allegedly leaking state secrets—a charge he denies. His previous arrests and convictions sparked widespread protests, some of which became violent.