Imran Khan and wife given 17 year terms in Toshakhana 2 graft conviction

A special Pakistani court on December 20 convicted former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in a high profile graft case involving state gifts and sentenced each to 17 years in prison. Special Judge Central Shahrukh Arjumand delivered the verdict at a hearing held inside Adiala jail in Rawalpindi where Khan is already incarcerated.

The court found the defendants guilty of criminal breach of trust and corruption linked to the under priced purchase, retention and sale of luxury state gifts obtained while Khan was prime minister. Prosecutors highlighted a Bulgari jewellery set presented to the couple by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a May 2021 visit. That set was valued at approximately Rs80 million, but prosecutors allege Khan paid just Rs2.9 million to acquire it from the government. The judgment references other luxury watches and gifts in broader allegations, but the Bulgari set was the most specifically named item.

The 17 year sentence handed down to each defendant is composed of two parts. The court ordered 10 years rigorous imprisonment under Pakistan’s penal code for criminal breach of trust, plus a further seven years under anti corruption laws administered by the Federal Investigation Agency. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated the new 17 year term will begin after Khan completes a separate 14 year sentence he is serving in a land graft case, a sentence imposed earlier and currently in effect since his incarceration in August 2023.

The conviction and sentence pile onto a broader landscape of legal proceedings that have surrounded Khan since his removal from office in 2022. Dozens of cases across a range of alleged offenses including corruption and national security matters have kept the former prime minister and his Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf party in the center of a prolonged political crisis.

PTI immediately rejected the verdict. A statement from PTI’s Central Media Department described the sentence as "unconstitutional, illegal, ill intended" and the "worst form of political revenge." PTI leader Omar Ayub condemned the proceedings as a "Kangaroo court" and said there was "no rule of law in Pakistan." The party said it would mount protests across Punjab with demonstrations planned on the Sunday following the verdict.

Beyond the legal ramifications, the conviction carries immediate political and economic consequences. Political uncertainty tends to raise risk premiums for emerging market borrowers and can disrupt fragile external financing arrangements, complicating ongoing negotiations with multilateral lenders and investors. Pakistan’s economy remains sensitive to capital inflows, foreign exchange reserves and the timing of reform benchmarks, and sustained street unrest or political paralysis could widen sovereign spreads and fuel inflationary pressures.

In the longer term, the case underscores a pattern of legal confrontation between the state and an influential political movement that has reshaped Pakistan’s post 2022 politics. For investors and policymakers alike, the ruling deepens uncertainty about governance, policy continuity and the ability of successive governments to pursue the structural reforms needed to stabilize public finances and restore investor confidence.