RAWALPINDI: A court in Rawalpindi has sentenced former Pakistani prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 10 years in prison each in the Toshakhana-II case, after finding them guilty of corruption and the illegal transfer of state gifts.
According to the verdict, the court ruled that allegations of misuse of authority and unlawful handling of Toshakhana gifts against both accused had been proven.
Legal expert Hafiz Ehsan said the case originated after Saudi Arabia sent official gifts to Pakistani authorities, which, under the 2018 Toshakhana rules, were required to be deposited with designated government departments. However, the former prime minister and Bushra Bibi allegedly failed to properly register the gifts and instead facilitated their transfer through letters issued by deputy military secretaries, a process the prosecution described as unlawful.
The court was informed that the gifts were valued at approximately €38 million—equivalent to around Rs7.15 billion—but their value was deliberately understated and deposited in violation of prescribed legal procedures.
Prosecutors argued that the accused abused official authority, intentionally undervalued the gifts, and bypassed mandatory regulations to retain or transfer them illegally.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed the reference in August 2022, and the case was subsequently heard by an accountability court. Alongside the prison terms, the court also imposed financial penalties on both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi.
The verdict adds to the growing list of legal challenges faced by the former prime minister, who has been entangled in multiple corruption-related cases since his removal from office in 2022.
