Battling the bars; what sentences Imran Khan is facing

Khan's April 2022 government dissolution was followed by over 150 criminal cases, suspension from elections for five years, his arrest in August 2023, denial of his party's election symbol, the cricket bat and his conviction in three cases.

Ahead of the Pakistan general elections, former Pakistan Prime Minister and chairman of the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), Imran Khan, was sentenced to jail in 'cipher', 'toshakhana' and 'iddat' case to 10, 14 and seven years respectively.

The verdict of all three cases were given in a single week with less than 10 days left for the elections, scheduled to take place on February 8.

Khan, 71, has been slapped with over 150 cases across the country and has been in jail since August 2023.

In its ever changing political history, Pakistan has never seen a government complete its due term. Military coups, arrests and assassinations have dominated the political dynamics of Pakistan ever since it became 'Pakistan'.

Standing up for elections and running a country like Pakistan with the threat of government dissolution any day is in itself a battle. Imran Khan's battle with the political system started in April 2022 when his government was ousted in a no-confidence motion.

Khan's government dissolution was followed by over 150 criminal cases, suspension from elections for five years, his arrest in August 2023 over corruption case, and denial of his party's election symbol, the cricket bat.

Now, as Pakistan proceeds to conduct its first general elections after the overthrow of PTI, Khan, his aide Shah Mehmood Qureshi and wife Bushra Bibi, have been sentenced to jail.

Here's a look at the cases Khan has been convicted in

Cipher case

Imran Khan and his aide Shah Mehmood Qureshi, 67, were sentenced to 10 years in jail on January 30 in a case related to leaking of state secrets.

The sentence was announced by a special court that was set up in Rawalpindi's Adiala jail.

'Cipher' refers to a diplomatic cable.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) filed a case against Khan and Qureshi on August 15 last year, the case accused them of violating the secrecy laws while handling the cable sent by the Pakistan embassy in Washington in March 2022.

Khan has denied the allegations repeatedly claiming that the cable proves that his removal from power in 2022 was a conspiracy.

Toshakhana case

Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, 49, were sentenced to 14 years in jail on January 31 in a corruption case. The couple was accused of retaining state gifts during Khan's rule.

Khan and Bushra were also slapped with a fine of Rs 787 million each.

In its reference, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) alleged that Khan and his wife had received a total of 108 gifts from different heads of state and foreign dignitaries.

While Khan was present during the hearing, Bushra skipped it and later offered her arrest at the Adiala jail.

Khan was previously convicted in another Toshakhana case on August 5 last year and was sentenced to three year imprisonment. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended his sentence, however, a division bench had later rejected Khan’s petition seeking the suspension of the conviction, Pakistani newspaper the Dawn reported.

Iddat case

Khan and Bushra were convicted in another case on February 3 by a civil court that was set up in Rawalpindi's Adiala jail.

The couple was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in marriage violation. The court ruled that their 2018 marriage violated the Islamic law.

ARY News reported that they were also fined Rs 500,000 each.

The case against them was filed by Bushra's ex-husband Khawar Maneka who accused Bushra of not completing the waiting period mandated by Islam, called 'Iddat', after divorcing him before marrying Khan.

The couple has denied the accusations.

They signed their marriage contract, called 'Nikkah Nama' in a secret ceremony in January 2018, months before Khan came to power. Khan initially denied the January marriage but his party, PTI, confirmed about the marriage weeks later.

While Khan and Qureshi serve their sentence at the Adiala jail, Bushra has been allowed to serve her sentence at their hilltop mansion, 'Bani Gala' in Islamabad.

(With Reuters inputs)