Imran Khan receives a 14-year prison sentence in the Toshakhana case.

The matter, referred to as the Toshakhana reference in Pakistan, concerns the sale of gifts received by the individual in his capacity as Prime Minister without disclosing the proceeds for tax purposes. Additionally, Bushra Bibi, his spouse, was found guilty and received a fourteen-year penitentiary sentence. Additionally, he was assessed a sanction of PKR 787 million (approximately USD 2.9 million). An already five-year prohibition on his candidacy for political office has been further prolonged to ten years.

The conviction and sentencing of Imran occur one day subsequent to his distinct charge conviction which was completed less than twenty-four hours prior. The former prime minister, on the other hand, was already incarcerated on a three-year term that was imposed in August. Although that sentence was subsequently suspended in light of the court’s ruling on corrupt practices involving the sale of state gifts, Imran remained incarcerated. As is typical in Pakistan, his current 14-year sentence will run concurrently with his ten-year term.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the political party that Imran established and guided to power in the country’s most recent general elections, condemned the proceedings, stating that they “exhibited a flagrant disregard for legal principles by the trial court” and that “this sham trial belonged in the trash.”

Since his removal from the position of prime minister in April 2022 subsequent to a motion of no-confidence, Imran’s legal issues have escalated significantly, with more than a hundred cases lodged against him. This is the first time, nevertheless, that his wife, Bushra Bibi, has been incarcerated by the legal system. She, unlike Imran, had never before been incarcerated.

The sentencing of Imran and his wife coincides with a severe crackdown by the state against the former cricketer for Pakistan. In Pakistan, general elections are approaching in eight days; the PTI has been barred from participating in any capacity. Political rallies orchestrated by the PTI have been dispersed and subsequently dismantled by the authorities. Police forcibly halted a rally in Karachi by deploying tear gas and arresting dozens of PTI employees; for months, his name was effectively banned from being mentioned on Pakistani television. Nationwide outages have occurred on multiple occasions when the PTI attempted to conduct virtual, online fundraisers, coinciding with the scheduled times of those events. The two incidents, according to authorities, are unrelated.

Following Imran’s sentencing to ten years in prison yesterday, the International Human Rights Federation issued a statement describing their findings as “a disconcerting disregard for fundamental principles of justice and due process” regarding his denial of access to his preferred attorney, which they described as a “blatant infringement upon rights enshrined in international law.”

Despite the fact that neither he nor his party are able to run in the impending elections, the most recent independent polls rank Imran as the most popular politician in the country, despite the absence of opinion polling prior to the elections. In May 2023, violent disturbances erupted across the nation in response to his apprehension by paramilitary security forces, resulting in a multi-day internet outage; tens of thousands of his political supporters were also detained.

An immediate statement was not issued by Imran or his attorneys in response to the sentence; however, an appeal is anticipated.