Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years in land corruption case
Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of corruption linked to the Al-Qadir Trust, according to a verdict delivered by an anti-graft court. His wife, Bushra Bibi, has also been handed a seven-year jail term in the same case.
The ruling, issued by Judge Nasir Javed Rana, was announced within the premises of Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Khan has been incarcerated since August 2023.
This marks the culmination of Pakistan’s largest financial misconduct trial involving allegations of a staggering loss of £190 million (PKR 50 billion) to the exchequer.
The case was filed in December 2023 by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against Khan, Bibi, and six others. However, the remaining defendants, including prominent property tycoon Malik Riaz, are reportedly outside Pakistan’s jurisdiction.
The Al-Qadir trust case
The charges stem from a settlement between the UK’s National Crime Agency and Malik Riaz, where £190 million returned to Pakistan was allegedly misused.
The prosecutors allege that Khan and Bibi accepted land as a gift from Riaz in exchange for laundering the funds.
The funds were purportedly directed to personal gains, including the establishment of Al-Qadir University in Jhelum.
Bushra Bibi, as a trustee of the Al-Qadir Trust, allegedly benefited from 458 kanals of land earmarked for the university.
The former premier has consistently denied wrongdoing, dismissing the charges as politically motivated. Since his arrest in 2023, he has claimed these allegations are part of a broader effort to obstruct his return to power.
Imran Khan, who was ousted in April 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote, has faced a string of convictions.
These include charges of corruption, revealing state secrets, and violating marriage laws, resulting in combined sentences of 10, 14, and seven years, to be served concurrently.
Khan’s legal team is expected to challenge the verdicts, which come amidst increasing political instability and allegations of judicial overreach in Pakistan.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption linked to the Al-Qadir Trust. His wife, Bushra Bibi, received a seven-year jail term. The case involves allegations of misusing £190 million returned by the UK’s National Crime Agency.
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