Imran Khan of Pakistan was sentenced to 14 years in prison for land fraud

A Pakistani court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years of imprisonment on Friday in a land corruption case, a setback to the nascent negotiations between his party and the government that were intended to alleviate political instability in the south Asian nation.

An anti-graft court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023, rendered the verdict in the case.

Bushra Bibi, Khan’s wife, was also convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison. According to Geo News, she was released on parole. However, she was apprehended subsequent to the judgment. Bibi was relocated to a prison cell at the same penitentiary as Khan, according to Khan’s party, following a medical examination.

The detailed court order shared by Khan’s party stated that “The accused Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi is hereby held guilty for the commission of the offence of corruption and corrupt practices.” Additionally, his wife was found guilty of “aiding, assisting, and abetting” corrupt practices.

The party will contest the verdict in higher tribunals, according to Omar Ayub, Khan’s adviser. A number of government ministers expressed their approval of the verdict, stating that it was founded on evidence.

The 72-year-old former premier was indicted on charges that he and his wife were granted land by a real estate developer in exchange for illicit favors during his tenure as premier from 2018 to 2022.

Khan and Bibi had entered a plea of not guilty.

The matter is associated with the Al-Qadir Trust, a non-governmental welfare organization that the couple established during Khan’s tenure in office.

According to prosecutors, Khan utilized the trust as a guise to unlawfully acquire land from a real estate developer. According to them, he was granted 60 acres (24 hectares) in the vicinity of Islamabad, as well as an additional substantial property in close proximity to his hilltop mansion in the capital.

The court also ordered the confiscation of the property, as indicated in the detailed judgment.

According to Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, the land was not acquired for personal benefit, but rather for the spiritual and educational institution that the former prime minister had established.

Khan’s supporters were advised not to despair in a post on his social media account on the platform X, which referenced his message from prison and referred to the conviction as a “joke.”

“I will stay in the prison cell for as long as I have to in the struggle against this dictatorship,” the article stated, stating “We will not make any deals and will face all false cases.”

The verdict’s announcement was postponed three times, with the most recent postponement occurring on Monday, as a result of reconciliation negotiations between the government and PTI. Since Khan’s removal from office in 2022, the two parties have been at odds.

According to analysts, the negotiations may involve Khan and his party being granted legal relief in exchange for ceasing their ongoing demonstrations, which Khan has characterized as a fraudulent election from the previous year.

Azam Nazeer Tarar, the Law Minister, informed reporters that the former cricket star had the option of submitting a mercy petition to the president of Pakistan.

The verdict is the most significant setback for Khan and his party since the 2024 general election, when PTI’s candidates, who were compelled to compete as independents, secured the most seats but failed to secure the necessary majority to establish a government.

Khan has been incarcerated since August 2023 and has been accused of a variety of offenses, including instigating violence against the state and corruption. He was removed from office in April 2022 following a parliamentary vote of confidence.

Except for this case and another on charges of inciting supporters to rampage through military facilities to protest his arrest on May 9, 2023, he has either been acquitted or his sentences have been suspended in the majority of cases.

Since the May 9 incidents, his supporters have organized numerous violent protest rallies.

Khan’s cases have been adjudicated within the confines of prison for security reasons.