Imran Khan says he was 'deceived' by court while sentencing in graft case

Islamabad: Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday accused the Accountability Court of deceiving him by calling him for the hearing in the Toshakhana corruption case to only mark the attendance but instead sentencing him and his wife to 14 years in jail.

Khan, 71 and his wife Bushra Bibi, 49, were sentenced on Wednesday by Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Bashir during the hearing at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where the former premier is incarcerated.

In the Toshakhana corruption case, he is accused of retaining expensive state gifts they received during his tenure as Pakistan's premier.

"I have been deceived as I was only called to mark my attendance for the hearing," said the PTI founder.

Khan and his wife were also barred from holding any public office for 10 years and slapped with a fine of Rs 787 million each. Bushra Bibi, 49, did not appear before the court on Wednesday.

At the outset of the hearing, Judge Bashir asked Khan if he recorded his statement.

To this, the former premier said that he would submit his statement once his lawyers came.

“Why are you in a hurry? Even yesterday, the conviction was announced in haste,” the ex-prime minister said, referring to the verdict in the cipher case a day earlier.

“My lawyers are not here yet. I will submit the statement after showing it to them when they come,” Khan said, adding that he had appeared before the court only to mark his attendance.

He was then told to submit his statement immediately and “not waste the court’s time”.

He then exited the courtroom, after which the court sentenced the ex-premier and his wife in absentia.

Following the verdict, Bushra Bibi, who was not present in court when the sentence was announced, arrived at the Adiala jail and surrendered before the authorities.

Khan's sister Aleema Khan said that the “judicial system has buried itself” today.

The sentence comes just a day after a special court established under the Official Secrets Act sentenced Khan and Qureshi to 10 years in prison for the breach of state secrets.

The latest conviction and sentencing are Khan's third since 2022 when he was ousted from power.

Previously, Khan was convicted in the Toshakhana case on August 5, and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) later suspended his sentence, however, a division bench later rejected Khan's petition seeking the suspension of the conviction.

The previous Toshakhana case was filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan in the charges of hiring the sale of state gifts.