A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 17 years in prison in a case involving the illegal sale of state gifts, marking the third major conviction for the ousted leader in a year.

The ruling, delivered by a special anti-corruption court, deepens the legal morass surrounding the former cricket star-turned-politician, who has been imprisoned since August 2023. He is already serving a 14-year sentence in a separate land corruption case, with this latest 17-year term to begin only after the completion of the prior sentence, according to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.

The court found the couple guilty of criminal breach of trust and corruption related to gifts from the state repository, known as Toshakhana. The verdict detailed 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under the penal code for criminal breach of trust and an additional seven years under anti-corruption laws, along with heavy fines. Prosecutors alleged that Khan and his wife retained luxury items, including high-value watches gifted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and purchased them from the state at massively undervalued prices, causing a loss of several million rupees to the national exchequer.

Khan’s legal team immediately condemned the proceedings as a sham. "The court announced the sentence without hearing the defence," family lawyer Rana Mudassar Umer told Reuters. A spokesperson for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Zulfi Bukhari, accused the government of using the judiciary as "a tool for selective prosecution," arguing the ruling "ignores basic principles of justice." Lead defense lawyer Salman Safdar said Khan has directed an appeal to be filed in the Islamabad High Court.

This case is distinct from an earlier Toshakhana conviction in which Khan and his wife received 14-year and 7-year sentences, respectively; those sentences are currently suspended on appeal. In total, Khan faces over 150 legal cases filed since his removal from power via a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022. The charges range from corruption and violating official secrets to incitement of violence. Khan and the PTI maintain all cases are politically engineered to exclude him from Pakistan’s political landscape.

In response to the verdict, the PTI has called for nationwide protests, starting in Punjab province on Sunday. The party has also raised allegations that Khan is being denied family and legal visits in prison—a claim authorities deny.

The continued legal battles against Imran Khan underscore the intense and ongoing political instability in Pakistan. As the nation gears up for elections, Khan remains a central, yet incarcerated, figure whose fate is inextricably tied to the country’s volatile political future. (ILKHA)