ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were handed a 14-year jail sentence in the Toshakhana reference.
This verdict comes just eight days before the upcoming general elections scheduled for February 8. The PTI is participating in the elections amid a state crackdown and without an electoral symbol.
Adding to the legal woes, a special court, established under the Official Secrets Act, sentenced Imran Khan and his Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, to 10 years in prison for the breach of state secrets, just a day before this ruling.
The Accountability Judge, Mohammad Bashir, presided over the hearing at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where the former premier is currently held. In addition to the jail term, both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi have been barred from holding any public office for 10 years and fined Rs787 million each. Notably, Bushra Bibi did not appear before the court on this particular day.
The judge had previously concluded the right of cross-examination for prosecution witnesses and instructed Imran Khan and his spouse to provide their statements under Section 342 (power to examine the accused) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
A day ago, after the cipher case proceedings, Bushra Bibi recorded her statement in the Toshakhana case, though Imran could not. During that hearing, Imran’s legal team had requested the court to restore the right of cross-examination but was turned down by Judge Bashir.
Today, accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir conducted the hearing at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where the former premier is incarcerated.
After his attendance was marked, the court asked him about his statement, to which the former premier replied: “My statement is in the [prison] room. I was only called for marking attendance.”
He was then told to submit his statement immediately and “not waste the court’s time”.
“Why are you in a hurry? Even yesterday, the conviction was announced in haste,” the ex-prime minister said, referring to the verdict in the cipher case.
“My lawyers are not here yet. I will submit the statement after showing it to them when they come,” Imran said, adding that he had appeared before the court only to mark his attendance.
He then exited the courtroom, after which the court sentenced the ex-premier and his wife in absentia.
Following the verdict’s announcement, Bushra arrived at Adiala Jail, where the NAB team was already present, to surrender to the court’s orders. She was subsequently taken into custody by the anti-graft watchdog.
(Islamabad51_Newsdesk)
