Ex-PM Imran Khan urges countrywide protests after 17-year Toshakhana-II sentence

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has called on his supporters to prepare for countrywide protests following a 17-year jail sentence handed to him and his wife Bushra Bibi in a corruption case.

A court on Saturday sentenced Khan, 73, and Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison each in the Toshakhana-II case , which involves alleged irregularities in state gifts received from the Saudi government in 2021. Khan has been in jail since August 2023 and faces multiple legal cases since his ouster from power in April 2022 through a no-confidence vote.

In a statement shared on his social media account from Adiala Jail, Khan described the verdict as a “military-style trial decision” and urged supporters to rise in protest. “I have sent a message to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to prepare for the street movement. The entire nation will have to rise for its rights,” he said. He added: “Struggle is worship, and I am even ready to embrace martyrdom for the true freedom of Pakistan.”

Khan said the sentence was not unexpected and instructed his legal team to appeal in the high court. “Like the baseless decisions and sentences of the last three years, the Toshakhana-II decision is also nothing new to me. This decision was given in haste by the judge without any evidence and without fulfilling the legal requirements,” he said, claiming his legal team “was not even heard.”

He called on the Insaf Lawyers Forum and the wider legal community to seek justice. “For the struggle to establish the supremacy of law and restore the Constitution, it is essential for the Justice Lawyers Forum and the lawyers’ front to come to the forefront. Only the system of justice can protect the people. Without it, neither economic progress nor moral development is possible,” he said.

Khan also criticized the top leadership of the army for his detention, while attempting to maintain support within the forces, stating, “the army is mine.” He alleged that he and Bushra Bibi have been subjected to “continuous mental torture” in solitary confinement, including a ban on books, television, and meetings.

The Toshakhana is a Cabinet Division department that stores gifts received by government officials from foreign dignitaries. Gifts can be bought back by officials following prescribed procedures.

Earlier, in October 2024, Bushra Bibi was granted bail by the Islamabad High Court in the case, followed by Khan a month later. Both were indicted in December 2024.