According to media reports on Wednesday, Imran Khan, the Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, and his wife Bushra Bibi have have been found guilty of selling official gifts illegally and have been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
In addition, the ruling imposes a 10-year ban on him from holding public office, as per the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). In August 2022, the Toshakhana case gained attention, claiming that Khan concealed information on presents received from heads of state placed in the Toshakhana and the money made from selling them directly in the market.
What is the Toshkhana Case?
According to the Dawn newspaper, Pakistan's anti-corruption bureau filed a fresh referral against the pair in an accountability court last month. Imran Khan and his spouse were charged by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with hoarding a set of jewelry that they acquired from the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, which was purportedly undervalued.
The Toshakhana case ruling was rendered barely eight days before the general elections on February 8, in which the PTI is contesting without an electoral symbol and amid a state of siege. In another case on Tuesday, a Pakistani court gave the troubled PTI chairman a 10-year prison term for disclosing official information.
In August, a different court sentenced Khan to three years in prison for selling gifts that he had acquired while in government totaling over 140 million Pakistani rupees. The goods were in state control. Khan's sentence was eventually suspended, although he is still incarcerated in relation to other instances. He has stated that he obtained the goods lawfully. According to Pakistani officials, Khan's assistant sold the items in Dubai.
Election 2024
Khan is not running for office since he is currently serving a three-year prison sentence and more than 150 cases against him are still unresolved. Khan was removed from office in a no-confidence vote in 2022. However, Khan's anti-establishment stance and grassroots following have kept him a powerful political force. Following Khan's imprisonment last year, there were violent protests in Pakistan, and since then, the government has clamped down on the party and supporters of the Islamist politician.
Elections on February 8 take place in Pakistan during a delicate period as the country struggles to manage an economic crisis that has besets Khan's successor, Shehbaz Sharif. The only way that Sharif was able to secure an IMF bailout was by consenting to a significant rise in gas and electricity tariffs, which resulted in startling price increases for necessities and alienated the public and his party.
