{"id":54546,"date":"2024-01-31T07:57:56","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T07:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/imran-khan-bushra-bibi-sentenced-to-14-years-in-toshakhana-reference\/"},"modified":"2024-01-31T07:57:56","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T07:57:56","slug":"imran-khan-bushra-bibi-sentenced-to-14-years-in-toshakhana-reference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/imran-khan-bushra-bibi-sentenced-to-14-years-in-toshakhana-reference\/","title":{"rendered":"Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi sentenced to 14 years in Toshakhana reference"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p>In yet another blow to Imran Khan and his party, the former premier and his wife Bushra Bibi on Wednesday were sentenced to 14 years in jail in the Toshakhana reference.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1800106\">fresh reference<\/a> against the two in an accountability court for retaining a jewellery set received from Saudi crown prince against an undervalued assessment.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><strong>Key points:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This is Imran\u2019s third conviction, including the one in the cipher case a day earlier<\/li>\n<li>He is already out of the race for the February 8 general elections<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhy are you in a hurry?\u201d Imran asks judge during hearing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr\/>\n<p>An Islamabad accountability court had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1804387\">indicted<\/a> Imran and Bushra in the reference earlier this month. The anti-graft watchdog alleged in the reference that during his term as prime minister, Imran and his wife had received a total of 108 gifts from different heads of state and foreign dignitaries.<\/p>\n<p>The verdict comes eight days before the February 8 general elections, which the PTI is contesting amid a state crackdown and without an electoral symbol.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1810019\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Today\u2019s conviction is Imran\u2019s third. A day earlier, a special court established under the Official Secrets Act <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1809933\">sentenced<\/a> Imran and his foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years in prison for the breach of state secrets.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, he was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1768528\">convicted<\/a> in a separate Toshakhana case on Aug 5, and sentenced to three years\u2019 imprisonment. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1772860\">suspended<\/a> his sentence, however, a division bench had later <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1799811\">rejected<\/a> Imran\u2019s petition seeking the suspension of the conviction.<\/p>\n<p>According to the verdict delivered today, Imran and Bushra were barred from holding any public office for 10 years and slapped with a fine of Rs787 million each. While the PTI founder was presented during the hearing, his wife did not appear before the court.<\/p>\n<p>The judge had already closed the right of cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses and asked Imran and his spouse to record their statements under Section 342 (power to examine the accused) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.<\/p>\n<p>A day ago, after the cipher case proceedings, Bushra Bibi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1809681\/imran-decries-unilateral-proceedings-in-jail\">recorded her statement<\/a> in the Toshakhana case, though Imran could not. During that hearing, Imran\u2019s legal team had requested the court to restore the right of cross-examination but was turned down by the judge.<\/p>\n<p>Today, acco\u00adu\u00adntability Judge Moham\u00admad Bashir conducted the hearing at Rawalpindi\u2019s Adiala Jail, where the former premier is incarcerated.<\/p>\n<p>After his attendance was marked, the court asked him about his statement, to which the former premier replied: \u201cMy statement is in the [prison] room. I was only called for marking attendance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was then told to submit his statement immediately and \u201cnot waste the court\u2019s time\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy are you in a hurry? Even yesterday, the conviction was announced in haste,\u201d the ex-prime minister said, referring to the verdict in the cipher case.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  \"><figcaption class=\"media__caption  \">Bushra Bibi arrives at Adiala Jail to surrender to arrest after she was sentenced in the Toshakhana reference. \u2014 Screengrab from video provided by author<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy lawyers are not here yet. I will submit the statement after showing it to them when they come,\u201d Imran said, adding that he had appeared before the court only to mark his attendance.<\/p>\n<p>He then exited the courtroom, after which the court sentenced the ex-premier and his wife in absentia.<\/p>\n<p>Following the verdict\u2019s announcement, Bushra arrived at Adiala Jail, where the NAB team was already present, to surrender to the authorities following the court\u2019s directives. She was subsequently taken into custody by the anti-graft watchdog.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"pti-terms-verdict-complete-destruction-of-law\" href=\"#pti-terms-verdict-complete-destruction-of-law\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>PTI terms verdict \u2018complete destruction of law\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Reacting to the conviction, the PTI said, \u201cComplete destruction of every existing law in Pakistan in two days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a post on X, the party said Imran and his spouse had faced \u201cyet another kangaroo trial in which no right to defence was given to both\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike cipher, this case has no basis to stand in any higher court. It\u2019s shameful how a complete disregard and mockery of the law is in place,\u201d the PTI added.<\/p>\n<p>In another post, it said, \u201cBig question marks arise on our judicial system now. How the cipher and Toshakhana cases were conducted exposed a complete disregard of law by trial court.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Imran\u2019s sister Aleema Khan said that the \u201cjudicial system has buried itself\u201d today.<\/p>\n<p>PTI leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that the conviction was \u201cnot only injustice but cruelty\u201d. In an apparent reference to the PML-N, he said the NAB was \u201cwithdrawing cases filed against a certain party\u201d but at the same time was handing over \u201csevere punishments just to make one leader happy\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to <em>Geo News<\/em>, he said, \u201cWe were not given time, were not given permission for cross-examination, despite there being a lawyer present.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He claimed that Bushra had \u201cno relation\u201d to the Toshakhana case nor was there any case gift registered in her name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is only to bring Khan <em>sahib<\/em> under pressure,\u201d he said, advising PTI supporters to remain calm and focus on the upcoming polls.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  w-full  w-full  media--stretch  media--embed  \">\n<p><div class=\"ast-oembed-container \" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe title=\"Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi sentenced to 14 years | Barrister Gohar Khan big Statement\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ndV0T5xUkx0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Hamid Khan, a senior lawyer and PTI leader, said that two convictions in two days showed how all the laws and procedures of a fair trial were exploited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo legal requirements were fulfilled, [\u2026] the permission to present witnesses was not provided. The statements under Section 342 were not even recorded properly,\u201d he said while speaking to <em>Geo News<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Hamid said the party would appeal both the cipher and Toshakhana convictions in higher courts, while PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan announced the same.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe should harness and channel these energies for the polling day on February 8, 2024 by ensuring a massive voter turnout,\u201d Ayub asserted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy does this system want to expose itself so badly? asked PTI\u2019s Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra, while party leader Shahbaz Gill said the PTI was \u201churt\u201d by what was happening but was proud of Imran\u2019s \u201cbravery\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>PTI Senator and lawyer Ali Zafar said the verdict was rushed, adding that if cross-examination was not allowed then the conviction would be regarded as a mistrial.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to <em>Geo News<\/em>, he said: \u201cPeople are not worried by such trials.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PTI lawyer Intazar Hussain Panjutha claimed that there were no witnesses in the cases against Imran, yet he was still given punishment.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"certified-toshakhana-thief\" href=\"#certified-toshakhana-thief\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>\u2018Certified Toshakhana thief\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Meanwhile, the PML-N\u2019s official X account said that \u201cfake <em>sadiq and ameen<\/em>\u201d had been proven to be a \u201ccertified Toshakhana thief in front of the world today\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar alleged that Imran had a \u201cteam that used to sell the items on the black market\u201d, referring to Toshakhana gifts.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing a press conference in Lahore, he claimed that the PTI founder undervalued Toshakhana gifts through local markets and then paid the required 50 per cent tax on that amount.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  \"><figcaption class=\"media__caption  \">PML-N\u2019s Attaullah Tarar speaks to media in Lahore. \u2014 DawnNewsTV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe items were subsequently sold in the black market for a much higher price for profit. Farah Gogi, who\u2019s an absconder in the case, played a key role in it,\u201d the PML-N leader said.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb alleged that government officials collaborated in the assessment to undervalue the gifts in the Toshakhana reference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a misuse of authority and they blamed everyone else for it,\u201d she said in a separate press conference.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"scales-have-been-balanced\" href=\"#scales-have-been-balanced\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>\u2018Scales have been balanced\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Reacting to the verdict today, senior journalist Mazhar Abbas said that the timing of the conviction would be discussed in political circles. At the same time, he said he did not expect PTI workers or leaders to react to the conviction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reaction to all of this would be important on February 8. Would they be demoralised and stay in their homes or would they come out politically charged?\u201d he said while speaking to <em>Geo News<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Commenting on the conduct of the PTI\u2019s legal team, Abbas said that there appeared to be a \u201cproblem\u201d. He highlighted how several PTI lawyers had come and go, but added that this could also be due to professional differences.<\/p>\n<p>It should be noted that in a recent hearing, Imran had said his lawyers could not appear before the court as they were contesting the upcoming general elections.<\/p>\n<p>Senior journalist Hamir Mir said that today\u2019s verdict was not unexpected for \u201cthose in the know\u201d. He said that it was expected for Imran to be convicted in several cases in the run-up to the general elections.<\/p>\n<p>He stated that the \u201cscales have been balanced\u201d now that the same judge who had convicted PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in 2018 had done the same to Imran. He said that PTI supporters knew that Imran would \u201cultimately\u201d be convicted before February 8.<\/p>\n<p>Political analyst Mosharraf Zaidi said that \u201csuch sentences in such cases\u201d against former premiers had been the norm in Pakistani politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have seen this in the past that such cases were heard against former premiers and such sentences were given, and then after a while they were released in these cases only,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Interim Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai said the court decision proved that \u201cno one is above the law and no one can get away with abusing the trust of people\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"case-history\" href=\"#case-history\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>Case history<\/h2>\n<p>The case, originally filed by ruling party lawmakers, is based on a criminal complaint filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).<\/p>\n<p>It alleges that Imran had \u201cdeliberately concealed\u201d details of the gifts he retained from the Toshaskhana \u2014 a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept \u2014 during his time as the prime minister and proceeds from their reported sales.<\/p>\n<p>According to Toshakhana rules, gifts\/presents and other such materials received by persons to whom these rules apply shall be reported to the Cabinet Division.<\/p>\n<p>Imran has faced a number of legal issues over his retention of gifts. The issue also led to his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1716149\/imran-khan-disqualified-in-toshakhana-reference\">disqualification<\/a> by the ECP.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1716149\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>On Oct 21, 2022, the ECP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1716149\">concluded<\/a> that the former premier had indeed made \u201cfalse statements and incorrect declarations\u201d regarding the gifts. The watchdog\u2019s order had said Imran stood disqualified under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>However, the full text of the 36-page order by the ECP was silent on life-time or five-year disqualification for Imran. Subsequently, the then-IHC chief justice had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1716807\">observed<\/a> that the law did not bar the former premier from contesting polls and the ECP had disqualified him only on his Mianwali seat for \u201cconcealing\u201d details of Toshakhana gifts.<\/p>\n<p>Subsequently, the ECP had approached the Islamabad sessions court with a copy of the complaint, seeking proceedings against Imran under criminal law for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure as the prime minister.<\/p>\n<p>On May 10, 2023, Imran was indicted in the case. However, on July 4, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had stayed the proceeding and directed Additional and District Session Judge Humayun Dilawar to re-examine the matter in seven days, keeping in view eight legal questions he framed to decide the maintainability of the Toshakhana reference.<\/p>\n<p>The next month, ADSJ Dilawar, while ruling that the reference was maintainable, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1763747\">revi\u00adved<\/a> the stalled proceedings and summoned the witne\u00adsses for testimony. The decision was subsequently challenged in the IHC.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1763747\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Judge Dilawar had then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1768275\">ruled<\/a> that Imran\u2019s legal team failed to prove the relevance of his witnesses. He had warned the defence counsel to conclude the arguments, or else the court would reserve an order.<\/p>\n<p>In December 2023, the NAB had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1800106\">filed a fresh reference<\/a> against the two in an accountability court.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources, such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In yet another blow to Imran Khan and his party, the former premier and his wife Bushra Bibi on Wednesday were sentenced to 14 years in jail in the Toshakhana reference. Last month, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a fresh reference against the two in an accountability court for retaining a jewellery set [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2024\/01\/311058208f9fefc.jpg?r=105832","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}