UPDATE - Ex-Pakistani Premier Khan, wife sentenced to 14 years in prison in state gifts case

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, BACKGROUND

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – In a second such prison sentence in as many days, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 14 years in jail in the state gifts case, also known as the Toshakhana case, on Wednesday.

The two prison terms given to Khan come almost a week ahead of general elections in the South Asian nation.

A court pronounced the verdict inside Adiala Jail in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi where the former prime minister is imprisoned.

On Tuesday, Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were sentenced to 10 years in prison over a breach of the State Secrets Act.

Khan is accused of selling state gifts which he claims he bought legally.

Khan's wife Bibi, who was not present in the court when the judge announced the verdict, later arrived in the jail to surrender.

Judge Muhammad Bashir also disqualified Khan and Bibi for 10 years from holding any public office and imposed a fine of around $5.6 million on the duo.

"Another day another conviction by a kangaroo court. Imran Khan and his wife, who has never held any public office, were sentenced just now in the politically motivated Toshakhana case," said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which Khan founded.

"Imran Khan was aware of the implementation of the #LondonPlan and had warned the nation as well as those heading the country’s justice system. Today’s verdict places another permanent stain on that system," said the party.

Last month, the country's anti-corruption watchdog filed this case against incarcerated Khan and his wife for illegally selling and purchasing foreign gifts.

The National Accountability Bureau had filed the reference in an accountability court in the national capital of Islamabad.

Khan was sentenced to three years in jail in August by another local court in the same “Toshakhana case” which was filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan, for hiding details of foreign gifts that he had received as a prime minister during his nearly four-year stint from 2018 to 2021.

He was subsequently barred from holding public office for five years by the Election Commission.

The Islamabad High Court, however, later suspended his sentence and ordered his release weeks later.

The new reference, which revolves around the same case, accuses Khan and his wife of causing losses to the national exchequer by unlawfully purchasing foreign gifts at cheaper prices and selling them for much higher prices.

The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been facing a slew of cases since his ouster in a no-confidence vote in April 2021. He has been languishing in a jail near Islamabad since August.