Pakistan’s Political Landscape Altered as Ex-PM Khan Receives 3-Year Jail Sentence

Khan's sentencing for illegal sale of state gifts intensifies debates over judicial fairness and political vendettas

[Islamabad] Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was sentenced on Saturday to three years in prison and was also banned from participating in politics for five years after being found guilty by an Islamabad court of illegally selling state gifts.

Khan, 70, was also ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 rupees (about $355).

In his decision, Islamabad District Judge Humayun Dilawar wrote that Khan “received benefits from the state gift house but deliberately concealed them, making him guilty of corruption.” Under Pakistani law, politicians must present any valuable gifts they receive to the Toshakhana, or state gift house, and can then buy them back at a reduced price.

Following the verdict, the court ordered the inspector general of the Islamabad Police to arrest Khan immediately. He was arrested shortly afterward at his Lahore home and reportedly was taken to the district jail in Attock, northwest of Islamabad, where a high-security zone had been prepared for him. He is reportedly being guarded by the Elite Police, a branch of the Punjab Police responsible for VIP security.

A shameful attack on the republic and democracy was made through a flawed, absurd, and unfounded judgment

Soon after his arrest, Khan released a prerecorded video message through PTI’s social media channel, saying his arrest had been expected and urging party members to “remain calm, steadfast, and strong.” He also called on them to protest peacefully.

“I only have one appeal: Don’t sit at home quietly,” he said.

The party also issued a statement on social media, describing the verdict as “the epitome of political vengeance and engineering.”

“A shameful attack on the republic and democracy was made through a flawed, absurd, and unfounded judgment. The nation will never accept such a plot and effort of vengeance against the country’s most popular and dependable political leader,” the party wrote.

This is Khan’s second arrest this year. In May, he was arrested on separate corruption charges, sparking mass protests from his loyal base of followers. That arrest was declared illegal and overturned by the Islamabad High Court.

Charismatic former world cricket player turned politician Imran Khan is no stranger to controversy. After retiring from cricket in 1992, he formed the populist Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in 1996 and first won a seat in the National Assembly in 2002. In the 2018 election, PTI became the largest party and formed a coalition government together with independents. Khan served as prime minister from 2018 until he was ousted in 2022 following a vote of no-confidence. He has since faced multiple charges of corruption, and has consistently said that the accusations against him are baseless and politically motivated.

Saturday’s verdict and sentencing mark the culmination of a case filed last year by National Assembly member Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party, alleging that Khan illegally sold gifts he had received from various heads of state and failed to disclose information to Toshakhana, the state gift house. The case was forwarded by the Assembly’s speaker to the Pakistan Election Commission, which issued a landmark decision disqualifying him from continuing to serve in the National Assembly on the basis of unethical behavior and making false statements. A criminal case against him was also launched at the same time, but it was ruled inadmissible by the Islamabad High Court last month. However, this week, the Islamabad trial court found him guilty of “corrupt practices.”

The responses to Khan’s arrest have been mixed.

Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Khan’s arrest was not politically motivated.

“After fulfilling all legal aspects, Khan has been sentenced, as per the constitution of Pakistan,” she told The Media Line.

Similarly, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Interior and Legal Affairs Attaullah Tarar told The Media Line that “the notion that the lawsuit against Imran Khan was politically motivated is totally incorrect.”

“As a prime minister of the country, he was legally bound by the Election Commission Act to disclose the gifts received, but he did not do so,” Tarar said. “During the trial, Khan’s lawyers also conceded that he sold official goods. This decision has been made in accordance with the law, and there is no doubt that the charges leveled against Khan have been proved to be true.”

Others said the verdict was part of an anti-democratic attempt to undermine Khan and his political movement.

Today’s judgment is in fact the final nail in the coffin of the country’s judicial system

“Today’s judgment is in fact the final nail in the coffin of the country’s judicial system,” Karachi-based political analyst Adeeb Ul Zaman Safvi told The Media Line.

“Pakistan has a dark history of interference by undemocratic forces in the autonomous political-judicial system, and this process continues,” he said.

Abdul Rehman Tiwana, a Lahore-based political analyst, told The Media Line that the verdict did not come as a surprise.

“Some ruling politicians, notably the federal interior minister, have repeatedly stated in public that Imran Khan should be imprisoned,” he said.

Tiwana said that Khan is seen as a threat to some political players because he has “defied traditional politics by challenging the political mafias and powerful establishment of Pakistan.”

He compared Khan to former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a similarly charismatic figure who was executed in 1979 after being found guilty of conspiring to kill a political opponent.

“Bhutto had challenged the powerful mafia-led political system, but he was hanged for an uncommitted misdemeanor,” Tiwana said.

He said that the political establishment was afraid that if the state held free and fair elections and Khan was allowed to run, he would be reelected.

Raja Tanveer Akhtar, a senior lawyer at the Supreme Court and former assistant attorney general, described the verdict as a “black day in the history of justice.”

Akhtar told The Media Line that several aspects of the trial were apparently biased against Khan. He said that the trial court judge had ruled that Khan’s witnesses were irrelevant, and Khan had been denied the right to defend himself. He also noted that rumors of the guilty verdict were already circulating on social media days before the actual decision was made.

“If such situations continue to occur in the country’s courts, the common man’s faith in the judiciary would be undermined,” he said.

Akhtar said that Khan’s legal team plans to submit an appeal to the Islamabad High Court.

“Hopefully the trial court’s decision will be overturned,” he said.

One of Imran Khan’s last interviews before his arrest was conducted by The Media Line. See “‘Pakistan Could Be Heading to Dark Ages,’ Imran Khan Tells TML. Facing Imminent Arrest, Former PM Calls for Televised Hearings, Softens Line to Biden Admin“