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Pakistan's Ex-PM Imran Khan Arrested and Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

14:07, 5 August 2023
© AP Photo / K.M. Chaudary
Dhairya Maheshwari
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The politician's lawyer has rejected the validity of the verdict, saying it was delivered in his absence, which is against the law.
Sputnik
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to three years in jail after a court in Islamabad found him guilty of underreporting the value of foreign gifts he received in the so-called 'Toshakhana' case, according to Pakistani media.
"Imran Khan deliberately submitted fake details to the Election Commission of Pakistan and is found guilty of corrupt practices," Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar said, according to an English-language local media source. The court has also ordered the police to execute the arrest warrant against the ex-PM.
Intazar Hussain Panjutha, Khan’s lawyer, has questioned the court’s order to arrest Khan without a proper warrant, adding that it was a "black day" for Pakistan.
Following reports that the politician has been arrested, the Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) issued a statement decrying the whole process as illegal, but noting that Khan did not resist arrest.
A screenshot of a tweet with the PTI statement regarding Imran Khan's arrest. August 5, 2023.
© Photo : PTI

"The decision of the Kangaroo Court of Dilawar was not yet received by anyone in the court, but the Lahore Police were already there to kidnap the Chairman of Tehreek-e-Insaf. Chairman Imran Khan did not resist [arrest]. Every process from the beginning of the case to the trial and from the trial to the abduction is illegal. This whole process shows how much the mastermind of the London plan is afraid of Imran Khan and every illegal tactic was tried for this ridiculous trial and kidnapping. Inshallah, Imran Khan and Tehreek-e-Insaf will come out [victorious] from the people's court in this trial and will also win the legal battle," a tweet posted by the party said.

Khan Claims Court Refused Him a 'Fair Trial'

In a video message recorded by Khan on the eve of his arrest and posted on the social media account of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after the court verdict, Khan accused the sessions court of denying him a "fair trial".
He also slammed the court of running a "military trial" against him.
The ex-PM said that the same judge who had handed down the jail verdict to him was present at the "police lines" after he was arrested from the Islamabad High Court on May 9.
“He wanted to take action against me in the Toshakhana case. I was without a lawyer. I wasn’t informed about the exact nature of the charges. But he pressed fake charges against me and left,” Khan said.
He said that he was given a list of 35 questions on the case and asked to answer them all.
Alleging that the judge "disliked" him, Khan said that he has already asked the Supreme Court to recuse him from being presented before him.
Khan claimed that police arrived at his residence this week and asked him to be present before the court in the Toshakhana case.
The ex-PM said that he appeared before the court on Friday and answered all the questions in detail.
“But they questioned me on a minor mistake that I hadn’t mentioned the word Toshakhana at one of the places. I declared every financial detail. I had declared every detail in my bank statement, in my tax records and before the Election Commission of Pakistan,” he claimed.
Khan said he asked the court if his accountant could be presented to clarify details.

“I came to know today (Friday) that the judge had ordered the accountant to be present in the court within an hour. But then, all of a sudden, the judge said that the accountant didn’t have to come. He canceled his appearance abruptly,” he claimed.

"I had to present 5-6 witnesses to explain to the court. But the judge canceled all my witnesses. And tomorrow, they will pronounce me guilty. Everyone in the world has the right to a fair trial,” the PTI chief stated.

He also highlighted that he was facing over 200 cases and had appeared in court on 350 occasions since being ousted as PM last year.

What is the Toshakhana Case Against Khan?

Pakistan’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) filed a case against Khan last year claiming that he had failed to disclose the real value of gifts he had received from foreign dignitaries during his term in power.
Under Pakistan’s law, gifts above a certain value received from foreign dignitaries must be deposited in the Toshakhana, or the state depository. The law mandates that the leader could choose to retain the gift by paying a fraction of its value.
Khan’s government was toppled in a no-confidence motion introduced by PML(N) last April. The former PM has said that the no-confidence motion was introduced at the behest of the Biden administration and on the advice of former Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa.
Last year, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Khan from contesting elections after finding him guilty in the ‘Toshakhana’ case. A non-bailable warrant issued against Khan in March led to police arriving at his Lahore residence, provoking clashes with supporters from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The Lahore High Court had then asked police to defer his arrest.
In July, Khan approached the Additional District and Sessions Court, urging it to quash the case against him. However, the court rejected Khan's request.
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World NewsPakistanImran KhanIslamabadPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)corruptioncourt verdictToshakhana сase
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