A Pakistani court has handed down a significant ruling, sentencing the country's former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to jail for corruption charges. Imran Khan has been given a 14-year sentence, while his wife has been sentenced to seven years in prison. The charges stem from allegations that the couple accepted a gift of land from a real estate tycoon in exchange for laundered money during Khan's time in power.
According to prosecutors, the businessman involved, Malik Riaz, was permitted by Khan to pay fines imposed on him in a separate case using laundered money amounting to 190 million British pounds ($240 million). This money had been repatriated to Pakistan by British authorities in 2022 to be deposited into the national exchequer.
Imran Khan has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has maintained that the charges against him are part of a conspiracy by his political rivals to prevent his return to office. Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022, has previously been convicted on multiple counts of corruption, revealing official secrets, and violating marriage laws. The sentences for these convictions are 10 years, 14 years, and seven years, respectively. Under Pakistani law, Khan is to serve these sentences concurrently, with the longest term determining the duration of his imprisonment.
