Rawalpindi: Former premier Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi have been convicted on Friday in the £190 million case. PTI founder Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while Bushra Bibi received a seven-year jail term.
Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the order in a courtroom inside Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, where Imran had been detained for over one year. In addition to the prison sentences, the court imposed fines of Rs1 million on Imran and Rs500,000 on Bushra Bibi.
The judge handed down a 14-year sentence to the PTI founder and a seven-year sentence to his wife, while also slapping heavy fines on them during a proceeding held inside a makeshift court at Adiala jail.
The PTI founder will have to pay a fine of Rs1 million and his wife has been slapped with a fine of Rs0.5 million. In case they fail to pay the fine, the ex-prime minister will serve six months more and Bushra three months.
The team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), led by Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Hussain Abbasi and Imran Khan's legal team included Barristers Gohar Ali Khan, Shoaib Shaheen, Salman Akram Raja, and other lawyers attended the high-stakes hearing.
Also present at the jail were the wife of the PTI founder, Bushra, who was taken into custody following the announcement of the verdict. She along with her already incarcerated husband, were handed over to prison's superintendent with a committal warrant to serve their sentences. Attested copies of the judgment were also provided to both convicts to enable them to file an appeal if they so desired.
As per the verdict, the former prime minister Imran Khan has been convicted for corrupt practices and misuse of authority, while the first lady has been convicted for involvement in illegal activities. The judge directed the authorities to give the Al-Qadir Trust University in the federal government's custody.
The court convicted Imran Khan under Section 9(a)(ii)(iv)(vi) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, for corruption and corrupt practices. Meanwhile, Bushra Bibi has been convicted under Section 9(a)(xii) of the same ordinance for aiding, assisting, and abetting corruption and corrupt practices.
The 148-page verdict mentioned that Bushra's role was limited to aiding and abetting the corruption offences, which is considered a mitigating circumstance in her sentencing. It further said that the prosecution's case was based on documentary evidence, which was found to be credible and coherent, while the defence had been unable to discredit the prosecution's witnesses or create reasonable doubt in the case.
Both accused had filed applications under Section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which were dismissed by the court. The court concluded that the prosecution had successfully proved its case "beyond any shadow of doubt", and the convictions were upheld.
The verdict also declared that the property of the 'sham trust,' Al-Qadir University Project Trust, is to be forfeited to the Federal Government in accordance with Section 10(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999. The verdict was announced amid tight security outside jail. Following the verdict, Bushra Bibi was immediately arrested in the courtroom.