Pakistan jails ex-PM Imran Khan for 14 years over land corruption case

The verdict is the biggest setback for Khan and his party since a surprisingly good showing in the 2024 general election

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Supporters of jailed former Pakistani PM Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, attend a rally demanding his release in Swabi, Pakistan in 2024. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:01pm, 17 Jan 2025Updated: 5:02pm, 17 Jan 2025

A Pakistani court sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to 14 years imprisonment on Friday in a land corruption case, a setback to nascent talks between his party and the government aimed at cooling political instability in the South Asian nation.

The verdict in the case was delivered by an anti-corruption court in a prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Khan has been jailed since August 2023.

Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi was also found guilty and sentenced to 7 years in prison. She was out on bail but was taken into custody after the judgment was pronounced, Geo News reported.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told reporters that Khan’s party could reach out to higher courts to appeal against the ruling, and that the former cricket star could also file a mercy petition to the president of Pakistan.

Omar Ayub, an aide of Khan, said the party will challenge the verdict in higher courts.

Pakistan’s former PM Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi at an office of Lahore High Court in Lahore in 2023. Photo: AP

The former premier, 72, had been indicted on charges that he and his wife were gifted land by a real estate developer during his premiership from 2018 to 2022 in exchange for illegal favours.