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• Special court sends former prime minister, spouse to prison for 17 years, fines Rs16.4 million after jail trial
• Judge says he has awarded lesser punishment because of age and gender of convicts
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced to 17 years of imprisonment in a case pertaining to the purchase of an expensive jewellery set, which was gifted to him by the Saudi crown prince during his May 2021 visit.
During the proceedings, the prosecution contended that the PTI founder retained the jewellery set, valued at approximately Rs80 million, after paying a throwaway price of Rs2.9m.
The verdict was delivered by Special Judge Central Shahrukh Arjumand during a hearing held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where Imran Khan is incarcerated.
Mr Khan was sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison; he was awarded 10-year rigorous imprisonment under sections 34 (common intention) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Pakistan Penal Code, and seven years under Section 5(2) (criminal misconduct by public servants) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Bushra Bibi was also sentenced to a total of 17 years’ imprisonment under the same provisions.
Both of them were also fined Rs16.4 million. As per the law, a failure to pay the fines will result in additional jail time.
The court order, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said, “This court, while passing sentences has considered the old age of Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, as well as the fact that Bushra Imran Khan is a female. It is in consideration of both said factors that a lenient view has been taken in awarding lesser punishment.”
It added that the benefit of Section 382-B (period of detention to be considered while awarding sentence of imprisonment) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was “hereby given to the convicts”.
Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were indicted in the case in December last year.
In October, the two had denied all allegations in the case, terming it a fabricated and politically motivated attempt to disqualify the PTI founder from politics.
Mr Khan, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a 14-year sentence in the Adiala jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023. Bushra Bibi is also serving a seven-year sentence in the £190 million corruption case.
Toshakhana 2.0
In October, the prosecution closed its evidence in the Toshakhana case, after which the court summoned former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife to record their final statements before the announcement of the verdict.
During the course of proceedings, the prosecution produced 21 witnesses, including Mr Khan’s former military secretary, who made what the court described as a “damaging” revelation.
The former military secretary testified that the ex-PM had instructed him not to deposit the Bulgari set in Toshakhana and instead retained it.
Rejecting allegations of undervaluation, Mr Khan denied that he or his wife had directed any official to influence the appraiser. He termed the statements of prosecution witnesses, including former comptroller Syed Inamullah Shah and appraiser Sohaib Abbasi, as “false, fabricated, and hearsay”.
He described Mr Shah as an “unreliable witness” who bore personal grudges after being removed from service and alleged that he was acting on behalf of political opponents. Similarly, he accused Mr Abbasi of being an “untrustworthy approver” who changed his stance under external pressure.
Mr Khan also challenged the jurisdiction of both the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), stating that the investigations were “extra-legal and supra-constitutional”. He said the FIA “acted merely as a post office”, transferring the case from NAB without independent evaluation. He also questioned the admissibility of evidence obtained from abroad, particularly from Bulgari Italy, citing recent amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.
Calling himself a “political prisoner”, Mr Khan said that since May 2022, more than 350 criminal cases had been filed against him as part of a campaign to exclude him from the political process. He claimed that his previous Toshakhana convictions had already been overturned on appeal, showing that the allegations were “bogus and groundless”. A key witness, Sohaib Abbasi, admitted to undervaluing the jewellery set at Rs5m “under pressure” from Mr Khan’s former personal secretary, Inamullah Shah.
Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2025
