A day after the special court sentenced Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years imprisonment in cipher case, the accountability court in Islamabad handed a 14 year jail sentence to Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana case.
The hearing commenced in the accountability court at Adiala jail, where Judge Mohammad Bashir presided over the hearing. The judge asked Imran to submit his statement, to which Imran replied that his statement was in the prison room and he appeared before court only to mark his attendance.
The court kept asking for the statement and urged Imran not to waste the court’s time. Khan asked why the court was in a rush as the same situation occurred a day before when the special court convicted him in haste.
Imran demanded to submit his statement after consultation with lawyers. He exited the courtroom, after which judge Mohammad Bashir announced the verdict of 14 years jail sentence.
Bushra Bibi surrendered before the court soon after the release of verdict. She was taken into custody by the NAB team, already present at the jail.
Imran and Bushra are ordered to submit a fine of around Rs1,574 million and barred from holding any public office for the next 10 years.
Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf strongly condemned the verdict and termed the decision as a complete destruction of law. PTI stated that the former premier and first lady have faced a ‘kangaroo trial’. The party strongly believed that the Toshakhana & cipher case had no basis to stand in the high court.
Complete destruction of every existing law in Pakistan in 2 days.
Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi have faced yet another kangaroo trial in which no right to defence was given to both. Like cipher, this case has no basis to stand in any Higher court.
It’s shameful how a complete… https://t.co/HTHSRmOfDh
— PTI (@PTIofficial) January 31, 2024
