Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan, wife Bushra Bibi sentenced to 17 years in Toshakhana 2 corruption case

A Pakistani accountability court on Saturday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years imprisonment each in the Toshakhana 2 corruption case , a high-profile case involving alleged fraud in state gifts. Khan is already in custody at Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi , where the judgment was delivered by Special Court Judge Shahrukh Arjumand .

The case concerns gifts received by the former couple from the Saudi government in 2021 , including luxury watches, jewellery, and other valuable items . Under Pakistani law, such gifts must be either returned, deposited in the Toshakhana (the official state treasury for gifts), or purchased at government-assessed prices. Khan and Bushra were accused of keeping these valuable gifts unlawfully, thereby breaching public trust and committing corruption.

The court ruled that the former PM and his wife had misappropriated state property , violating both the Pakistan Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act .

The court awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 409 of the Pakistan Penal Code , which deals with criminal breach of trust, along with seven years’ imprisonment under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, taking the total sentence to 17 years of imprisonment for each convict. In addition, the court imposed a fine of Rs 10 million on each.

The verdict is a significant step in Pakistan’s ongoing crackdown on corruption and underscores the legal obligations of public officials regarding state gifts. The Toshakhana 2 case is the second major corruption case involving Khan, following earlier proceedings related to state assets, and is expected to have substantial political implications.