Pakistani court sentences former Prime Minister Imran Khan and wife to
17 years in graft case
[December 20, 2025]
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court convicted and sentenced
imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on
Saturday to 17 years in prison after finding them guilty of retaining
and selling state gifts, officials and his party said.
The couple pleaded not guilty when they were indicted last year. They
were accused of selling the gifts, including jewelry from Saudi Arabia’s
government, at prices far below their market value while he was in
office. |
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, right, and Bushra Bibi, his
wife, speak to the media before signing documents to submit surety bond
over his bails in different cases, at an office of Lahore High Court in
Lahore, Pakistan, on July 17, 2023. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File) |
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Prosecutors said Khan and his wife declared the value of the
gifts at a little over $10,000, far below their actual market
value of $285,521, allowing them to purchase the items at a
reduced price.
Under Pakistani law, for government officials and politicians to
keep gifts received from foreign dignitaries, they must buy them
at the assessed market value and declare any proceeds earned
from selling them.
Khan’s spokesperson, Zulfiquar Bukhari, said the verdict in the
graft case ignored basic principles of justice. In a statement,
he said that the “criminal liability was imposed without proof
of intent, gain, or loss, relying instead on a retrospective
reinterpretation of rules.
Bukhari said the court ruling “raised serious questions about
the fairness and impartiality of the process, turning justice
into a tool for selective prosecution.”
Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party denounced the
verdict in a statement, calling it “a black chapter in history,”
and said Khan was present in the court when the judge announced
the verdict in the Adiala prison in the city of Rawalpindi.
Khan, 73, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and
his party is in opposition in the parliament. He has been
serving multiple prison terms since 2023 on corruption
convictions and other charges that the former cricket star and
his supporters have alleged are aimed at blocking his political
career.
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