Pakistan’s Ex-PM Imran Khan Convicted in Corruption Case
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A Pakistani court handed former Prime Minister Imran Khan a prison sentence after finding him guilty of misusing power while in office.
An anti—graft court ordered Khan to a maximum 14 years in jail for accepting land illegally from a real estate tycoon, said Muzafar Abbasi, a lawyer at the National Accountability Bureau. The anti-corruption agency had accused Khan of obtaining land from property developer Malik Riaz in return for legalizing equivalent to $239 million funds that were retrieved from the UK’s National Crime Agency.
The latest verdict is a setback for Khan, who had begun talks with Pakistan’s current government for the first time since being jailed more than a year ago. He had been working toward securing the release of some of his party workers who had been arrested after multiple protests. Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 Index closed up 1.2% after the verdict.
“The verdict means political stability will persist since the government will continue to work as usual,” said Adnan Khan, head of international sales at Intermarket Securities. “This is seen as a positive for the markets.”
The court also convicted Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, in the same case and sentenced her to seven years prison.
This is Khan’s fifth sentence since his ouster from power in a 2022 parliamentary vote. He was found guilty in four different cases from corruption to misuse of power and violating the Islamic wedding rules. Khan has denied charges in each case. In the past year, higher courts have overturned three of his earlier convictions, while suspending a fourth one.
Khan has been in jail since 2023, with trials underway in several other cases. The former cricket star faces more than 150 cases, from corruption to inciting violence.
In the latest conviction, Khan was accused of using the money meant for Pakistan’s treasury to pay fines for businessman Riaz in another court case. In return, Riaz gave land to Khan and his wife.
Since removed from power, Khan’s political party has led several protest movements, without success, demanding his release from jail and new elections. The candidates loyal to Khan won the most seats in national election in February but failed to form a government as rivals including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif cobbled up a coalition government.
Khan’s party said it will appeal the Friday verdict in a higher court.
--With assistance from Faseeh Mangi.
(Updates stock prices in the third paragraph, verdict against Khan’s wife in fifth)
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