Imran and wife Bushra get 14 years jail in Toshakhana case; second conviction for ex-PM in two days

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

Former prime ninister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 14 years in jail by an accountability court in the Toshakhana reference on Wednesday.

Imran Khan and Bushra were barred from holding any public office for 10 years and slapped with a fine of Rs787 million each. While the incarcerated PTI founder was presented before the judge during the hearing, his wife did not appear before the court.

It was not immediately clear if Imran Khan's sentences were to run consecutively or concurrently following a trial held inside the jail where he has been detained for much of the time since his arrest in August.

Following the verdict’s announcement, Bushra Bibi arrived at Adiala Jail Rawalpindi where a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team was already present, to surrender to the court’s orders. She was subsequently taken into custody by the NAB.

Judge Muhammad Bashir had already closed the right of cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses and asked Imran Khan and his spouse to record their statements under Section 342 (power to examine the accused) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

A day ago, after the cipher case proceedings, Bushra Bibi recorded her statement in the Toshakhana case, though Imran Khan could not. During that hearing, Imran Khan’s legal team had requested the court to restore the right of cross-examination but was turned down by Judge Bashir.

After Imran Khan’s attendance was marked, the court asked him about his statement, to which he replied: "It is in the prison room. I was only called for marking attendance.” He was then told to submit his statement immediately and "not waste the court’s time.”

"Why are you in a hurry? Even on Tuesday, the conviction was announced in haste,” the ex-prime minister said, referring to the verdict in the cipher case.

"My lawyers are not here in the court yet. I will submit the statement after showing it to them when they come,” Imran Khan said, adding that he had appeared before the court only to mark his attendance. He then exited the courtroom, after which the judge sentenced the couple.

The verdict comes eight days before the Feb.8 general elections, which the PTI is contesting without a poll symbol.

This was Imran Khan’s third conviction. A day earlier, a special court established under the Official Secrets Act sentenced Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years in prison for the breach of state secrets.

Previously, he was convicted in the Toshakhana case on Aug.5, and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended his sentence, however, a division bench had later rejected his petition seeking the suspension of the conviction.

Last month, the NAB filed a fresh reference against Imran Khan and Bushra in an accountability court for retaining a jewellery set received from a foreign ruler against an undervalued assessment.

The accountability court had indicted the couple in the reference earlier this month. The NAB alleged in the reference that during his term as prime minister, Imran and his wife had received a total of 108 gifts from different heads of state and foreign dignitaries.

Reacting to the development, the PTI said that complete destruction of every existing law in Pakistan has been done in 2 days. It said that Imran and Bushra faced "yet another kangaroo trial in which no right to defence was given to both.” "Like cipher, this case has no basis to stand in any higher court. It’s shameful how a complete disregard and mockery of law is in place,” it alleged.

Senior PTI lawyer Hamid Khan said that two convictions in two days showed how all the law and procedures of fair trial were exploited. "No legal requirements were fulfilled, and the permission to present witnesses was not provided. The statements under Section 342 were not even recorded properly.”

"Another sad day in our judicial system history, which is being dismantled," a spokesman for PTI told media.

"You have to take revenge for every injustice with your vote on Feb.8," Imran Khan said in a statement posted on his X profile reacting to his 10-year sentence on Tuesday. "Tell them that we are not sheep that can be driven with a stick."