Pakistan’s anti-corruption court on Wednesday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 years in prison in the Toshakhan case. The couple were also banned from holding any public office for 10 years and fined PKR 787 million, Pakistani news outlet Dawn reported.
The verdict in Toshakhan’s case comes a day after Pakistan’s special court, set up under the Official Secrets Act, sentenced Imran Khan and Pakistan’s former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years in prison for breaching state secrets.
In January this year, Pakistan’s anti-corruption court indicted Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister and his wife in the Toshakhana case against them. The hearing of the case was held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
The case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi was filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan’s anti-corruption watchdog.
The judge has already closed the right to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses and asked Imran Khan and his wife to record their statements under Section 342 (power to cross-examine the accused) of the Pakistan Penal Code, Dawn further reported.
The Toshakhan case relates to allegations that Imran Khan failed to deposit 19 million pounds or $24,08,06,950 given by the British government. It allowed the property tycoon to use it to partially settle the said amount against the Rs 460 billion fine imposed on him by the Supreme Court.
The allegations surfaced over their misuse of the Toshakhana, a government treasury, in which they bought donations received during their tenure at discounted prices and sold them at higher prices.
Besides Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, the case also includes developer Malik Riaz Hussain, his son Riaz Alia, former aides of Imran Khan including Shehzad Akbar and Zulfiqar Bukhari, as well as Bibi’s friend Farah Gogi and lawyer Zia Mustafa.
