ISLAMABAD: Islamabad high court on Monday suspended ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s and wife Bushra Bibi’s 14-year sentences in a toshakhana (state treasure-house) case related to selling state gifts he received while in office. A trial court had sentenced them on Jan 31 this year, just a week before the Feb 8 general elections.
Despite the suspensions, Imran (71) will not be released as he was convicted in two other cases ahead of the polls.
The high court said the toshakhana sentences would remain suspended until it decided Imran’s appeal case after Eid holidays that begin in 10 days. “No evidence backs up this conviction,” Imran’s lawyer Ali Zafar told reporters on Monday, explaining why the HC put the sentences on hold at the appeal’s first hearing itself.
The trial court had also barred Imran and Bushra from holding any public office for 10 years and slapped a fine of 787 million Pak rupees ($2.8 million) each, ruling days before the general elections which Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) alleged was massively rigged.
The case against Imran and his wife was filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan’s anti-corruption watchdog, last Dec accusing the couple for retaining a jewellery set received from the Saudi crown prince against an undervalued assessment.
NAB claimed Imran and his wife had received a total of 108 gifts from various heads of state and foreign dignitaries when he was PM from 2018 to April 2022. In the case at hand, Imran is also accused of not disclosing assets from alleged sale of such state gifts valued at more than (Pak) Rs 14 crore.
A day after the toshakhana sentences, Imran and his wife were sentenced to seven years in a case related to their marriage during the latter’s Iddat — a mandatory waiting period for a woman after divorce or death of her previous husband. Before that, a special court had sentenced Imran and his erstwhile foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years for breach of state secrets.
Imran says the cases are based on trumped-up charges to keep him out of politics at the behest of the powerful army. The military denies the charge.
Despite the suspensions, Imran (71) will not be released as he was convicted in two other cases ahead of the polls.
The high court said the toshakhana sentences would remain suspended until it decided Imran’s appeal case after Eid holidays that begin in 10 days. “No evidence backs up this conviction,” Imran’s lawyer Ali Zafar told reporters on Monday, explaining why the HC put the sentences on hold at the appeal’s first hearing itself.
The trial court had also barred Imran and Bushra from holding any public office for 10 years and slapped a fine of 787 million Pak rupees ($2.8 million) each, ruling days before the general elections which Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) alleged was massively rigged.
The case against Imran and his wife was filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan’s anti-corruption watchdog, last Dec accusing the couple for retaining a jewellery set received from the Saudi crown prince against an undervalued assessment.
NAB claimed Imran and his wife had received a total of 108 gifts from various heads of state and foreign dignitaries when he was PM from 2018 to April 2022. In the case at hand, Imran is also accused of not disclosing assets from alleged sale of such state gifts valued at more than (Pak) Rs 14 crore.
A day after the toshakhana sentences, Imran and his wife were sentenced to seven years in a case related to their marriage during the latter’s Iddat — a mandatory waiting period for a woman after divorce or death of her previous husband. Before that, a special court had sentenced Imran and his erstwhile foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years for breach of state secrets.
Imran says the cases are based on trumped-up charges to keep him out of politics at the behest of the powerful army. The military denies the charge.