Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi awarded 14-year imprisonment in Toshakhana case

RAWALPINDI: The Accountability Court (AC) in the Toshakhana case awarded a 14-year imprisonment for both the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and his wife, Bushra Bibi.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiated the case against them on December 19 last year. AC Judge Muhammad Bashir delivered the verdict, also disqualifying the PTI founder and his wife from holding public office for 10 years, accompanied by a fine of Rs787 million.

During today’s hearing, the PTI founder appeared in court, while Bushra Bibi was absent. When questioned about his statement of 342, the former prime minister stated that the statement was in the room, and he was only summoned to court.

The judge urged Imran Khan to promptly submit his statement, cautioning against wasting court time. Claiming that his lawyers had not arrived yet, the PTI founder left the courtroom after ensuring to show them the statement.

Following the NAB court’s decision, former first lady Bushra Bibi surrendered to the anti-corruption team at Adiala Jail. Despite her absence in the hearing, she arrived at the jail in her car and was apprehended by female police officers.

Sources indicated that the NAB team was assembled to arrest Bushra Bibi, and they, along with a police party, would proceed after obtaining a detailed verdict from the court.

The Toshakhana case had escalated in national politics after the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified the PTI chief for providing “false statements and incorrect declarations” last year.

Notably, this development follows a conviction in the cipher case, where a special court sentenced Imran Khan and his foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years in prison for breaching state secrets.