A Pakistani court has sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to 14 and 7 years in prison.

A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced the country’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife to 14 and 7 years in prison for corruption, officials and their lawyer said.

It is another blow to the former prime minister, who is behind bars from 2023.

The couple has been accused of accepting a gift of land from a real estate tycoon in exchange for illegal money during Khan’s tenure.

Prosecutors said Khan allowed businessman Malik Riaz to pay a fine of 190 million British pounds ($240 million) that was returned to Pakistan by British authorities in 2022 in another case. with national accounts.

Six people have died in protests against the detention of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan.

Khan did not commit the crime and was arrested in 2011.

According to Khan’s legal team, Khan laughed and his wife Bushra Bibi smiled as Judge Nasir Javed read out the verdict.

Khan and Bibi were later taken to jail by prison officials after the verdict was announced, according to officials. She was previously remanded in custody in another case pending her bail in court in October. She recently led a rally demanding the release of her husband.

Later, a post from Khan’s account on the X forum urged his fans not to be alarmed by the verdict, under which Al-Qadir University, built by his owner’s charity, will be taken over by Punjab state authorities.

Khan wrote, “I will never accept this tyranny and I will remain in jail until I am involved in the struggle against this tyranny, but I will not compromise on principles and the struggle for true freedom of the country.” The Khan family shares such posts voluntarily.

Defense lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said the verdict could be challenged in higher courts.

Soon after the verdict was announced, lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, gathered outside parliament in the capital Islamabad to protest the wrongful conviction of the former prime minister.

As rival Pakistan loses influence in Afghanistan, India has strengthened its diplomatic ties with the Taliban.

Omar Ayub Khan, a senior party leader not related to the former prime minister, said: “This is a false case, and we will approach the appellate court against this decision.”

Imran Khan was ousted in April 2022 in a no-confidence vote by parliament and was previously convicted of corruption, leaking official secrets and violating marriage laws in three separate verdicts and sentenced to 10, 14 and 7 years respectively. According to Pakistani law, he must serve the terms concurrently – meaning the length of long sentences.

Some of Khan’s supporters turned up at the gates of Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi city and protested against the government and demanded the release of their leader.

On Thursday, Information Minister Atallah Tarar told reporters in Islamabad that there was “irrefutable evidence” against Khan and his wife in a “mega corruption scandal”. According to Tarar, Khan did not even tell his cabinet members about the money returned to Pakistan by Britain.

Tarar Khan said he built a new sprawling house in the eastern city of Lahore after giving benefits to the business tycoon and could not confirm where he got the money to build it.

The latest change comes a day after Khan’s PTI party held critical talks with representatives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government demanding the release of all political prisoners, including Khan and other party leaders.

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Sharif became the prime minister following the February 2024 elections, which the PTI said were rigged.